Just beginning to hear

By Shari Wauzzinski

As a senior at Butler University nearing the end of four years in higher education, I have been considering my future vocation - what I want to do with my life. In particular, I have been thinking how vocation fits into my life as a Christian.

God has created each person with gifts and talents that are to be used for specific purposes in life.

Vocation literally means "call." As Christians, we understand vocation as God's call to us, making it central to the Christian belief that God has created each person with gifts and talents that are to be used for specific purposes in life. I believe God calls all of us to ministry, not just those wanting to become pastors or chaplains.

Initially, vocation was my catch phrase, something I used to describe the eventual professional career God was helping me find. I busied myself with all the necessary provisions to begin to discern what that vocation might be. As a student with loans, I even wondered how I was ever going to earn enough money to support both me and my education desires.

I also began to wonder how I was going to make enough money to sustain myself while serving God and saving the world. I want to serve God and use my talents for God's glory, but I'm not sure what exactly that means even as a senior soon to graduate.

This view of vocation, the "doing" for God, is one though, I am sure I share with many others. My question is "how can I use my gifts for the glory of God?" I consult with my usual sources of life's wisdom - prayer and meditation, and the various members of my own "advisory board" - the people I go to when I need guidance. As I delve into the idea of vocation and answering God's call, I realize my view of vocation as the "doing" for God is much too narrow.

Doing and being

Vocation is not just the "doing" for God, but also the "being" for God. When we make a commitment to Christ, we are committing the whole of our lives - 100 percent - to God's service. This doesn't simply mean finding a profession that will help people. As Christians, it means we can understand that vocation, or answering God's call, means answering it throughout all of life - in professional life, family life, church life, civic life and community life. Vocation is not just a profession - a job; it is a whole-life commitment to serving God in all things.

So, how is this new understanding playing out in my life? It's very simple to say, but I am more aware of how I live my life than I used to be. I'm not simply trying to follow more of the commandments or ask myself "what would Jesus do?" It's too simple to say I am trying to find a profession that best uses the talents with which God has blessed me. All of these are important, but even in life, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

In every part of life

To me, vocation has come to mean using my talents and gifts in every part of my life, not just in my church or professional life, as if we can separate them. It means everything I do, from the time I wake until the time I go to bed needs to do and to be for the glory of God. It also means God is the one who sits on the throne in my life - not me - as I am often tempted to do.

Finally, the call is not easy to hear clearly amid the noise of contemporary life and often I will try to dilute God's call with my own desires. Yet, as a Christian, I have given my commitment to listen to God in all things. Four years and graduating, I am just beginning to hear.

Shari Wauzzinski served as a Butler University student intern in the Indiana Area Communication office during the fall semester. She plans to attend law school after she completes her university education this spring.

Last updated on 25 Apr 2008

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