He went to Jared

For some time now, I have felt/desired that my primary calling was God and His Church, and that everything else was a secondary calling that fit under that.

Worker, educator, father, husband, brother, son, friend, assistant to the assistant head coach of little league soccer...you name it...it fits under this umbrella of God and what He is doing on this planet.

Sometimes, the connection between one of my secondary callings (work) and primary calling fits together beautifully. And this has been especially true (at times) working at a college that has a Christian mission. No matter what you think about Christian higher education (or Christian anything in terms of an adverb), it certainly, at the very least, opens doors for you to talk about your faith.

The last few years, however, the connection between those callings just did not sync right. I'm not sure what happened. Did I get too busy? Did I lose sight of the big picture (calling)? I would still try to connect with students on a spiritual level, but I would walk away feeling empty, like I had just been asleep. 

At times it felt like nothing was working right. 

But this year has been different.

Yes, I am in a new role (faculty member) now, but I don't think that's the difference (maybe it is...what do I know?). Instead, I think the transition between roles was such a soul-searching, anxiety-causing, difficult experience that it forced me to re-evaluate my calling in life and how it is lived out.

I think God was waiting on me.

Now, I am meeting with three students regularly to talk about God and life. THREE! And the hilarious thing is that I do not have any of the three in class and they all just fell into my lap. It's bizarre.

First, there's Nosse. Nosse is a female student originally from Nigeria. She had a crisis of faith and I happened to be physically in the room at the peak of it. I twisted her arm into meeting with me to talk about it (okay, maybe this isn't exactly "fell into my lap"). She agreed. We are now meeting weekly to talk about God and read John's gospel together. I keep giving her "outs" (you really do not have to meet with me) and she keeps continuing to want to meet with me (she probably also thinks I have really low self-esteem...that would be a first...ha!).

I digress. Then there's Jacob. Again, never had in class, but I met him in my last position. One day, when I was at a local coffee shop with Amanda, I ran into Jacob. I told him we should get together sometime. He emailed me and asked me to coffee. It took about 20 minutes before I realized that he was just wanting time with me (that there was no other "real" reason for meeting with me). Now, we meet every 2-3 weeks and talk about God and life.

And then there's Jared.

Long story short, Jared came into my office one day and asked me about faith and doubt. I gave him one of my favorite books, Christ: the Sum of All Spiritual Things. He devoured it and asked if we could meet to talk about it. Jared and I now meet weekly to discuss how Christ is the Christian Life.

My meetings with each student have a different flavor. But with Jared, I get to let it all out. I get to say all the things that I hold back on from the others (I don't want to scare them off). We talk about Christ being in us, Jesus and His Bride, and what it means to let God work through us vs. us working for God.

And although these students don't know it (yet), they are receiving the benefits of me living with freaks. I literally take what God is sharing with me through my wife or a brother or a sister, and I, in turn, share it with these friends.

I'm so thankful, humbled, excited by these encounters. I feel like I am living out my primary calling through a secondary calling, and I think that's the way it should be.

Comments

[amy]

Absolutely awesome.

[Mayra]

Enjoyed reading this :)