So what's the deal with the word 'vocation'? Is it a dreamy locale with endless sunshine, white sand beaches, and lounging with umbrella drinks? Not quite. But it does refer to where you are in life and what you are doing on a daily basis. Ideally your vocation, or calling, would include things that allow time to slip by unnoticed and feelings of satisfaction, joy, and contentment. However, in today's culture, we are engrained to think of work not as a calling but rather a means to and end - retirement. So, the average American spends their lifetime - 100,000 hours - toiling at a job waiting until the day of retirement. One of the myriad problems with that thinking is once one reaches retirement it can be confounding how to fill the void of work. We were meant for more!
Let's begin with how work began. God worked when he created the heavens and the earth and he called his work "good" (Genesis 1). After his work during six days he then rested on the seventh (sabbath). We were created in God's image and as image bearer's we were made to work, enjoy it, and rest. How life could dramatically change for many of us if we simply shifted our mindset ever-so-slightly to view work as an enjoyable experience of worship towards God. I'll explore this concept further in future posts, but for now... How do you find joy in your work? Do you feel called to your current employment? Maybe you volunteer and that's where you feel called?