Have you ever felt lost, alone, confused, unsure of what to do next, unsure of what your calling is? Do you ever sit back and wonder what God is asking of you?
Maybe there was a time you knew your calling. You were to be a Wife and a Mother, a caretaker, a healer, a child’s giggling dance partner, a coloring book aficionado, and a world class booboo kisser. You were to be a partner, a supporter, a champion, a budget-applying miracle worker, a secret look across a crowded room interpreter, and a soft place for your better half to land at the end of a long, hard day.
And now…you are just not.
So what is God calling you to do? When your dreams have been dashed and reality is that you need to concentrate just to support, to feed, clothe, and house your children. Time races by and you have no time for giggling dances stepping on little toes, no patience for sitting and coloring when dishes need to be washed and groceries need to be put away and the kids left their backpacks and sneakers and junk out again, when empty dark nights precede empty dark days as budgets are written in a red ink, no human miracle could turn black, when you notice secret looks given to others who don’t comprehend what a gift that secret look is, and when you long, at the end of even just one day, to come home to a meal you didn’t cook, a partner to talk over the day with, one to laugh with and one to hold and to hold you.
In Sunday’s Gospel, Luke 3: 10-18, John the Baptist addresses crowds asking similar questions, “What should we do?”
He tells them, “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.”
He tells tax collectors, “Stop collecting more than is prescribed.”
He tells soldiers, “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.”
John the Baptist’s simple words spoken over 2000 years ago can still be applied today. We don’t need to overcomplicate our callings, just do what we are supposed to do. It’s kind of like the Bible version of the poem, “Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten,”
“Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.”
Share. Play nice with others. Be generous. Be kind to those who have less. Be grateful for what you have.
“Stop collecting more than is prescribed.”
Economic collection. Shattered dream collection. Desires belonging to another collection. Do not collect envy. Do not wish you had that man’s job, that woman’s Husband, that Family’s vacation. Do not collect what does not belong to you. Do not hoard realities of others.
Collect your due. Wish. Dream. Hope. Pray. Believe!
Don’t merely collect Dreams, even your own. Work hard. Try again. Don’t quit Don’t give up. Go after what you want. Strive. Achieve.
“Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone…”
Don’t cheat. Don’t skimp out. Watch your words. Speak Truth. Be Honest with others. Be Honest with yourself. Be Honest about yourself.
Do not put yourself on a pedestal. Do not put yourself in the gutter. Plant yourself firmly where you belong. Know your worth. Know where your worth comes from. Reach for that worth.
“…And be satisfied with your wages.”
Accept payment in the form it is given. Appreciate payment in the form it is given. Be grateful for payment in the form it is given. Praise the Lord for payment in the form it is given. Spread the news of Joy in for payment in the form it is given.
Realize that payment is often in things we cannot put a price tag on.
Payment is taking the time to be a child’s giggling dance partner, in turning your back on the mess to sit at the kitchen table and be a coloring book aficionado, and in cuddling and holding and comforting a little one who believes you are truly a world class booboo kisser.
Payment is sometimes in reaching out to another, an older child, a girlfriend, a Church member, an elderly person in your neighborhood to be their partner, their supporter, their champion.
Payment is sometimes in building your saving and giving on a tight budget. It is in realizing God works miracles when we honor Him with our finances. It is in being amazed at how He makes pennies stretch when we honor Him first.
Payment is in being open to but not dependent upon one day receiving a secret look from across a crowded room, and having a soft place for your better half to land at the end of a long, hard day.
John the Baptist didn’t impose radical changes on those he spoke with. He called them to do the jobs they had chosen, but to do them without pride, without anger, without greed, without envy, without imposing desolation.
Maybe your call hasn’t changed as much as you think. You are still called to Love. You are still called to dance and giggle and sit and color and provide comfort and to give generously and to…
You are still called to Love and to live a Good life, and doing so is possible.
When you live your calling, you learn to live!
I am thinking of hosting an online get together this holiday season, especially for women who are alone this holiday season. If you’re interested, please email me at SingleMomSmiling@hotmail.com for details.
And, as always, thanks for commenting, liking, following, and sharing!
SUBSCRIBE to Single Mom Smiling’s monthly newsletter.
to catch every post!
