Called.....
My dad always had a dream for me. That dream was that I
would become a preacher. I do not ever remember not telling people when asked in
my younger years what I was gonna be when I grew up that I was going to preach.
But then I became a teen and for some reason that vocation just didn’t feel
right any more. Maybe it wasn’t cool? Maybe it wasn’t the thing for me? People
stopped asking and I stopped replying. I ended up working for General Motors
and after years of running from God I finally did begin to preach the word.
Now everyone in the small church I grew up in from the
Deacons to the Janitor knew of my aspirations. And every time we got a new
Pastor, or an Evangelist would visit, Dad would pull the ole’ “Hey tell the Reverend
what you’re gonna be!” trick.
I mention all this because one night when I could not sleep
it dawned on me, if all those people knew about this, why didn’t anyone help me
to pursue the goal? I mean was there something about me that they just didn’t
take me serious? Where would I be in life now if I had stayed the course, went
to Bible College and never looked back?
I look at Samuel’s calling and his relationship with Eli (I
Samuel Chapters 1-3) and wonder what if one of those old time preachers would
have clapped me on the shoulder, took an interest in me and steered me toward
the pulpit. What if I hadn’t let the world distract me?
I have always made of point of never second guessing anyone else’s
calling, no matter what it might be. Preacher? Music Minister? Missionary?
Sunday School Teacher? Bus Driver? Whatever! God uses people in amazing and
remarkable ways and it is NOT my place to question or distract, but IT is my
place to offer and provide support.
I am not trying to blame anyone for choices made by me. I
have lived my live of my own freewill and tried to serve God to the best of my
abilities. And so I alone am responsible for my actions. But still there is
that small voice that wonders, “What if…”
