2017 Calling

And it is, isn't it?  

2017 is calling each of us to be who we are supposed to be, in the right place at the right time.  If that thought produces anxiety in your heart, I have good news for you: 

Rightly timed things, happening in the rightest of places can only occur when we let go.

If you, like me, have learned this the hard way, you know that the precious time and pride that's lost in the process of resisting surrender is not worth it.  This generally involves resisting your purpose or the circumstances of life because maybe they are terrifying, boring, or seemingly nonsensical.  "That's not really what I had planned." is the basic thought that goes through our self absorbed minds when faced with things that we would rather not engage with.  

Isn't it funny that people who believe in God seem to forget that they/we are merely the created, not the Creator? Within the very concept of God, is the assumed notion that he knows everything and we don't.  And yet, we live with the entitled notion that we know what is best for us.  How much smarter would it be to allow the Creator of Everything to steer our ships, with all of the infinite insight that we believe he has.  Can you imagine the Peace that would bring?

Be it medical news that you never expected, engaging kindly with a person you dislike, or feeling prompted to put yourself out there in vulnerability, we are all faced with moments that are challenging.  When we are challenged by life, we can either resist or surrender.  In recent years, I've had to go to bat repeatedly with my areas of resistance-- things that God has asked me to surrender him, that have been hard.  So hard, that often my response has been a conditioned, fear-based Deer in Headlights moment.  It seems that depending on our wiring and life experiences, there are two possible kinds of resistance to surrender: avoidance and control.  I think our options when it comes to challenge in life, look something like this:

Whichever response you are currently dealing with, avoiding the challenge in your life or attempting to control it, I truly believe the best thing we can do is to surrender to life. For me, that means surrendering to the plans of a God who sees so much further down the road than I ever could-- a God who uses that knowledge for good.


So what does this have to do with calling and purpose?  The greatest callings and adventures in this life, lay just beyond challenge.  Great minds have told us as much all throughout history, that "nothing easy is worth doing", or that  "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I? I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."  In order to answer the calling God has placed on our lives, then we must make friends with surrender, and become comfortable with choosing it in the face of challenge.

There is, of course, much more to living a life of calling. This, though, is (I believe) the first step to truly unlocking and embracing our individual purpose. :)

The other steps, I'm still figuring out.  Haha.