The Call

What is a calling? What does it mean to get "The Call? Finding one's calling is a wonderful thing, because it means that one has found their place in the scheme of things. It could be that one has found a career that suits them well, or some great purpose to support. Getting "The Call" is a powerful and often life changing experience for people, but it is not always such a good thing. I'm sure most people have heard stories of how psychotic individuals have done terrible things because some entity outside of themselves told them to. It may have been that some dark force gave them suggestions, but it surely wasn't god. I believe that if one gets a message from god, that it would not seem to come from outside of oneself, but that one would simply be aware of something that earlier they were not.

My grandfather studied physics and engineering in college, and then suddenly changed course and became a Navy chaplain and a Methodist minister. He claims to have gotten "The Call", and he then knew what his path in life would be. I think that it worked well for him, as he raised a family and was a great pastor. I'm sure there are many priests or ministers who "got the call", but are very poor spiritual leaders in their communities. I think that one should be very careful with the interpretation of such signs, and listen not just to their heads, but to their hearts.

I hope that in the twilight of my life, I will be able to look back and say that I found my calling.