I have signed up to the Henri Nouwen daily quote email. Today I got this, I was taken by the phrase that our vocation is hidden in where we are and who we are. As a youth worker and employed in/by a faith based agency it is too easy to slip into our vocation being what we do.
Often we want to be somewhere other than where we are, or even to be someone other than who we are. We tend to compare ourselves constantly with others and wonder why we are not as rich, as intelligent, as simple, as generous, or as saintly as they are. Such comparisons make us feel guilty, ashamed, or jealous. It is very important to realize that our vocation is hidden in where we are and who we are. We are unique human beings, each with a call to realize in life what nobody else can, and to realize it in the concrete context of the here and now.
We will never find our vocations by trying to figure out whether we are better or worse than others. We are good enough to do what we are called to do. Be yourself!
Hi Sarah you can subscribe at http://www.henrinouwen.org/home/free_eletters/
I’m looking to talk to our young people at church on Sunday on the subject of “vocation” and found this passage. Great words on which to reflect on our calling and ourselves. Thanks for posting this and on such an interesting website.
nicola.