Today the Church celebrates the Conversion of the Apostle Paul. His conversion story shows that God has a special calling or purpose for each of us. His conversion story is the central them around the God & Life program for teenagers that I have helped teach at Episcopal Scout Retreats and I look continually to it for inspiration in my role as a Church leader.
It comforts me that there is a plan for me, that I will be equipped with the gifts or armor that I need to do take on a task that He has for me. I have said before that He is messing with me, because sometimes I find that the call is taking in places that I would not have gone on my own.
I have been serve on discernment committees and listen to people describe their call to ministry and I have always been amazed to hear the strength of conviction when someone has truly received a calling.
Sometimes the results are difficult, like our Priest being called away from us, and sometimes they are challenging, thinking about what the effect of our calling this Priest would be to our Church.
These callings all have something in common. These callings come through Prayer and they don’t go away. They are not whimsical, those “that would be neat to do” thoughts, these calls come and sometimes you have to struggle with them to understand them.
But the great thing is, it does not matter who we are, the life we have lived up to this point, when the call comes, it is for us , it changes us, it takes us places we did not think we would go, it stretches us, teaches us, and we are better for it.
It's all good so far 