Own Your Calling
Before the Coronavirus pandemic, I would start each of my mornings by listening to a sermon. As I’d get ready, I would typically play the previous week’s sermon from Transformation Church via YouTube. I’d let the words from Pastor Michael Todd echo in my ears as I did my hair and make-up and would put as much effort into starting my day with a fresh perspective, a positive outlook and prayer.
Fast forward to present day and currently being furloughed, my mornings have often started at different times and under different circumstances. Finding a new routine during the current stay-at-home order has been difficult.
My faith hasn’t always been easy and my true walk with God started to flourish a few years ago. Now, I grew up in both the methodist and baptist church and my father would make my siblings and I go on Vacation Bible School tours every summer. We grew up as church people. I knew God, but my relationship with God was pretty stagnant for a really long time. I think a lot of millennials and the Gen Zers started their journey in faith a bit on autopilot. For a while, we went to the church our parents chose for us and did things at the will of others.
It wasn’t until years after I graduated from college and was on my own, that I really started to get to the foundation of my faith and started to create my own relationship with God. After moving to Charlotte, it took years for me to find a church home that genuinely made me feel welcomed, accepted where I was in my faith and celebrated the diverse journeys of its members. I found Elevation Church and it helped me rediscover myself.
Churches all over the world have been greatly impacted by the pandemic and many are tapping into virtual resources and online services. Every Sunday I watch Pastor Steven Furtick with Elevation and just yesterday, I woke up and got back into watching sermons from Transformation Church.
Sometimes my anxiety deters me away from my purpose. The spirit of fear over takes me and I can easily fall into an overwhelming state of worry. These past few weeks have been a struggle for a multitude of reasons, but just yesterday, I was reminded of a spiritual resource I need to shift my perspective: Starting my mornings with the word of God. I’ve even been blessed to double-down with my family during daily devotional conference calls and daily prayer (another bright light within this pandemic).
Times like these remind us how important our mental health is. For some christians, it’s hard to understand that some of us need therapy and counseling in addition to prayer. I, for one, definitely try to give a little TLC to both my mental health and my spiritual health.
When I listened to Pastor Michael Todd’s sermon called, “You’re Officially Ordained,” it reminded me of how God lives within us and how we must use our gifts to spread the gospel and good works that He does.
It reminded me that even when we are searching for our purpose and trying to figure out God’s will, we must be reminded that God often has an even bigger title waiting for us.
We all have to search deep within ourselves to find where our identity lies. For so long, I latched on to being the “fashion girl” but I always knew that God had a different calling on my life. Qualities and skills within me that could serve others and instill growth.
Another part of this sermon that spoke to me was that sometimes you have to leave something in order to focus on your purpose/your calling, grow and then come back to it.
My friends and I love the show Insecure. In the first episode of the fourth season, we learn that two of the main characters, Issa and Molly, are no longer friends. This came as no surprise for some, but was shocking to others. It seems that Issa is maturing and growing at a different pace than her friend Molly. Molly always focused on advancing in her career and constantly defined success on the terms of others and has completely neglected accountability within her relationships and friendships.
I tweeted after the episode completed, “Once you hit 30, realizing that some friendships are truly seasonal or solely serve a new purpose, much different than it may have before, is soooo real. It hits hard, but it’s not a bad thing. Just a part of growing up.“
Now that statement can be true for many, but my final takeaway is back in relation to the Transformation Church sermon. Sometimes relationships and careers may be seasonally, but it’s so vital to tap into what God has placed upon your life. Don’t ignore it and don’t measure where you want to be by the standards of others. Listen and find peace. Grow and don’t be afraid to evolve.