This past Monday, just lying on a mattress on the floor of my room at the Pastor’s house, I received a confirmation of my calling. It came to me as a seemingly random thought, and then I bolted upright and grabbed my computer so that I wouldn’t lose it.
This all started as I was eavesdropping on a conversation about Lord of the Rings between two of my teammates in the next room. (Which, I know I’m too nosy, but it’s impossible not to be when the walls of the house don’t go all the way up to the ceiling! Sounds carries like crazy.) Monday is our day of rest, so I’d been sitting and reading for a while before my eyes got a little sleepy and I started listening in.
All this talk of books made me think about why I love reading so much, which in turn reminded me of an affirmation I got from my dear Squad Leader Christina the day before: that I am a finder of other peoples’ stories.
Clear as day, I heard that message in the context of my career.
I want my life to be about hearing and telling stories.
Over the past year, I’ve been toying with the idea of going to grad school to study to be a Child Therapist after I get back from the Race. I specifically had that in mind to work with kids who have been abused or neglected. And what better use of stories could there be: to come alongside children as they are hurting, and to encourage them to find their own voices and to write their own endings?
Now, I still don’t know how I’ll get from point A to point C, or even what continent that will put me on (sorry Mom!), but in that moment, I felt this inexplicable joy and belonging, knowing that I’m envisioning a future for myself that God is planning right alongside me. It is such an incredible feeling; I hope that each of y’all have felt that same contentment and rightness in your hearts!
I didn’t expect to get much more than my laundry done on my day off, hoping that a blog idea would present itself at some point along the way. How wrong I was, and for once, how happy I am to be wrong!
This is the day that the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
