I recently watched a video on YouTube about “discovering your calling.” The video was created by a woman I somehow encountered in the past named Lara Johnson. Lara is a Certified Life Coach who helps moms, in particular, find their purpose in life and figure out exactly what God is calling them to do.
I have followed her for the past year or so, and I try to participate in her monthly “Busy Moms Book Club” — because I love to read and I love personal development books! Each month, Lara comes to us via Zoom with her free book club and tackles an amazing book, giving viewers a “cliff notes” version of the book (since most of us mamas are too busy to read the book ourselves). I’ve really enjoyed Lara’s content and I feel very fortunate to have found such a bright and inspiring woman with such great advice to give to other moms and women in general.
So I found myself tuning in to her workshop about finding your calling. I have been particularly struggling with this concept recently, wondering about my own calling and purpose in life — and what God really wants me to be doing with my time here on Earth.
I currently do quite a few things and consider myself to be a pretty busy mom. In addition to the roles of wife and mom, I have a full-time job as a nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. I work one night a week in the homes of newborns as a Nurse At Night, I have a side business where I create custom chalkboards and home decor, and I write for Charleston Moms. These are only a few of the things I do day-to-day!
But I find myself asking each and every day what my true calling is, and what God’s intended purpose is for me.
Sure, I feel like I’m providing a meaningful service through my two nursing jobs, and they both give me a level of fulfillment that I wouldn’t otherwise have without them. And of course, I know I am meant to be a wife and Mama -– I work on being a better one every day! But sometimes I just feel stuck in a rut, in a place of existing but not really living the way I am intended to live.
I have so many hopes and dreams and things I want to do and accomplish — but is one of these dreams part of my calling? I struggle each day, wrestling with the thoughts in my brain, and wondering how I am supposed to discover this calling and act upon it to make it my reality.
I think many of us mamas feel like we are meant for more, meant for something bigger, meant to be living a deeper purpose in our lives. Not that being a mom isn’t enough of a purpose -– I’m not saying that at all! But I know there are some of us, like myself, that are living life day to day like we are on a hamster wheel, just going through the motions. We look out over our kids as they play in the backyard and wonder what else we are here to accomplish in our short time on this Earth.
In Lara’s video, she gave some questions to answer that should help me find my true calling. She laid out the “decision-making process” and described how this should help in figuring out what my calling really is. In less than 45 minutes, I took three pages of notes (yes, I’m a nerd of sorts) and came up with one more thing to put on my iPhone’s to-do list: create my own poster board with these questions to hang in my bedroom. I am going to take my time answering them, be truthful with myself in these answers, and pray God helps me find my calling through this process.
I’m tired of struggling every day with my thoughts. I’m tired of feeling like “there’s more out there” and like I’m not doing exactly what I should be. I am tired of not feeling completely fulfilled in my home life, my job, and my relationships with others. I’m 35 years old, and I am ready to figure it out. I’m ready to discover my calling, run with it, and make it my reality.
Dreaming is great . . .
But living my whole life with just dreams, and never seeing any of them come to fruition is not truly living my life.
We sit here as mamas and have dreams for our kids. We tell our kids to have these incredible dreams for themselves and make these dreams come true.
But we sweep our own dreams under the rug, and we put them on the back-burner. We are so focused on being good moms, good wives, and good employees. We are so focused on being people-pleasers and givers that we forget ourselves, our own passions, dreams, and things that we want in our lives.
How can we tell our children to have their own dreams — that they can be whatever they want, do whatever they want, and make these dreams come true . . . when we, ourselves, are leaving our own dreams behind?
God has a purpose and a calling for each and every one of us! And maybe you are one of those very fortunate mamas who has found her calling and purpose and is already living it every day. But to all of you mamas who are sitting right here with me wanting to find your calling and really live it — go for it. Don’t wait. Do the work to find your calling. Do the work to accomplish your dreams. You only get this one life to make it happen.
Just as you encourage your children to dream and do what truly makes them happy in life, so should you encourage yourself.
