An opportunity to bring restoration to the broken beauty of Toomer's Corner's oaks
But if I say, “I will not mention him
or speak any more in his name,”
his word is in my heart like a fire,
a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;
indeed, I cannot. Jeremiah 20:9
One of the great joys I have in coaching and teaching is helping people discover their calling. Two core questions of calling are, “Who are you? What is your purpose in life?”
Last night, at an installation of SGA officers for the year 2011-2012, I heard many young women and men summarize the past year’s work and express gratitude to various folks who had helped them in their job. Many of them spoke to the core realities of calling. One young man thanked his parents, saying, “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be here.”
Another young man’s concluding words were more remarkable, in part because they are not the kind usually spoken in a public university gathering: “I am excited about the big story that lies ahead for Auburn University, and I am thankful to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who is writing this story.”
Afterwards, he asked me, “Was that too much?” I didn’t say ‘no’ just because I’m his mom. I said ‘no’ because it was clear that the words were not pre-meditated, that they had arisen to the tongue and spilled out. No force could have stopped them — they were the proverbial fire within his bones. And they were the truest summary of his calling. Everything he does in the coming year will be defined by the Story he claims. In his passion to bring beauty and justice to the campus, he will deeply bless many, but not without sinning and harming some. He will work in unity with his team; but at times, he will fight against division. He will be part of a team that brings deep and lasting impact to a major university. In all that arises in the coming year, his story will be wrapped in a larger story of a God who knows his heart, forgives his sin, and redeems him to be a restorer of broken things. It sounds like a calling to me.
What about you? Stop where you are and give a few minutes to consider your calling. Who are you and why are you here? (Hint: you can start with the very basic question — ‘why am I here’ literally — right where you are in this moment. Trace that back to see the larger realities the answer reveals.)
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