How I Discovered my Calling (and How You Can Discover Yours Too!)

My husband has been a busy bee lately! Several weeks ago he started working with a number of people to help them find their calling. While he did that, it was a few hours alone at home to get some chores done for me; but, for those he was counseling, it was a much more exciting time. Eric would come home grinning from ear to ear; and, though he wouldn’t tell me personal information about the clients (we take client confidentiality seriously!), he excitedly told me of how they all reacted when they got to the root of their callings.

Some of Eric’s clients asked him what my calling was, but since I had not gone through a “calling session” with him, he didn’t know. He would ask me if I wanted to find out, and for a good while, I didn’t want to know. Maybe I was afraid that once Eric knew what my calling was, he would relentlessly nag (I mean… encourage!) me to pursue it often. Perhaps I was afraid that after working through the process with him, we wouldn’t find my calling. Chances are, I was just afraid of knowing my calling because of the responsibility I would feel after it was revealed.

Well, I took the plunge. I sat on the couch with a notepad and Eric sat on the love seat with questions in his head. He took me through a series of questions and exercises. After a few hours, he and I began narrowing it down until the cream rose to the top.  My calling is to be an empathizer!

When my calling emerged, I felt tears in my eyes. It was not that I was super-surprised as there are several stories from my past which show me as an empathizer. What struck me was hearing my calling pronounced as such out loud and really knowing it is God’s calling on my life.

What I didn’t understand previously is that knowing my calling didn’t bind me in a straightjacket of responsibility; instead it set me free. Though I don’t know all the ways God will have me use empathy in my life, I know that He gave it to me on purpose.

We all have a calling on our lives. We were all put on this Earth for a reason.

As a child (and even today), I cannot fully enjoy the win of my favorite professional sports teams because I am hurting with the team that lost. When someone I know is brokenhearted, my heart aches too. When someone is being bullied, I feel it to my toes. When I’m around too many problems at once, I become very tired because I experience other people’s problems and pain at a deep level.

The verse that came to my mind as we were going through the calling exercise was Isaiah 61:1, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound” (ESV). There is a reason God gave me the ability and task to feel what others feel. Now I’m excited, and a little nervous, to see how He’ll use me in this way.

What’s your calling? Who are you at your core? Do you know? If you don’t, let me tell you, it is worth the investment to find out. Knowing who you are and what you are called to will help you narrow down which field of study you should pursue (in college or otherwise), job opportunities you should seek out, and areas of ministry where your calling will best be utilized.

In reality, learning your calling will give you amazing insight for your life direction.

What would it be worth to you to know your calling?