When my husband was in his sophomore in college, he told me that he felt a strong “calling” on his life to teach and preach the Word of the Lord. I was so proud of him, and I wanted to support him in this calling to go where the Lord led him. The problem for me was, I didn’t feel “called.” I was going to school to be a speech pathologist and my path was heading into a direction of more school, and building a career in this field.
We were married a couple of years later and completed my degree and began to work. At this time, John began his time in seminary. He continued to work toward his degree when we were blessed with our first child. As he finished his degree, I again, was proud and wanted to help him in anyway that I could, but I still did not feel “called.”
It was not until we moved away and John began to work in his associate pastor role that the Lord was beginning to uncover my calling to me. The first year after moving away was a hard year for me. I was depressed about leaving the rest of family in the area where I grew up, leaving my work family, and adjusting to a new job and a new role in our home (homeschool mom). I struggled to know exactly what is was that I was supposed to be doing every day. I often had no plan and just flew by the seat of my pants. I would not recommend that. Have a plan for each day. It helps!
But as I cried out to God, I knew He loved me and would never forsake me, but I needed more of Him. I needed to hear from Him. I had intermittently read my Bible in years past, but often haphazardly and again, without a plan. So, I started reading with a plan that I found online. I also went to a women’s conference that helped give me new ideas about how to read the Bible.
Since then, in the last four years, I have heard more from my Father than ever. I am not perfect, and I do miss days reading. I still have valleys and dry periods with my walk in faith, but I found my “calling” in the Word. It was very simple: to be His child and to be a disciple of His word. Of course my calling is to also be a wife, a mother, but first and foremost it was to be His. God speaks to me each time I open His word and it is how I have grown to love Him more and understand His character.
Each of us has a calling to be His first, then we can work on the other tasks He has laid out for us. I pray that you would listen to God through his Word each day and allow Him to speak to your heart. Start by just opening the book, and read.