It took me a long time to accept that I was being called into the ministry. A number of people have told me that I must’ve been mistaken because that wasn’t something women were allowed to do. Yet even as I was a child, I was the one who was chosen to be the preacher in our pretend weddings and funerals. I was chosen to be chaplain and even high priest of various groups during high school. Everything pulled me in that direction: my studies, my dreams, affirmations from people who knew me. And yet, I did a lot of pushing against that call and even running from it.
I guess you could say that I learned the hard way to finally relax and pay attention to the Spirit within and around me.
This past year, I took the Coursera version of the Science of Well-Being taught by Laurie Santos, a professor at Yale. Through the class assignments, I was asked to determine what my strengths were and how to work with them. I was amazed to see in writing, right in front of my face, that my strengths coincide completely with ministry.
This has been a reaffirmation for me of my calling. Some people may look at me and decide against me. But the Spirit is willing to work through each of us, according to the gifts that we have and to the amount that we say yes.
May we all choose to say yes to The Spirit! Please join me in my pondering and prayer today:
AND SHE PONDERED: Encountering God in Everyday Life 