Settling into the joy of vocation

I find comfort in the routines in life, especially when so much of life seems so uncertain and capricious. For almost a decade, I went running along the same route each day and encountered many of the same people. I always saw the university shuttle bus at almost the same location. The dog walkers were among the most faithful, along with the people who needed their morning caffeine fix at the coffee shops near campus. Like in Groundhog Day, my morning routine included an eerily identical scene and cast of characters each day.

Almost every morning I saw a nun. She was there to greet the children who attended the parochial school attached to our neighborhood Catholic church. I first noticed her because, unlike many contemporary women religious, she wore a habit. She always returned my friendly wave of greeting, and I enjoyed watching her usher the groups of tired, grumpy children in the door to the school. In and out of season, for years until I moved, I witnessed her faithfulness.

I’ve thought about this scene recently while contemplating the old-fashioned notion of vocational calling. Both vocation and calling are words we easily use in faith contexts, but we rarely define them. A vocation is not a job, and a calling is not about employment. When I use the phrase “vocational calling” as a Christian, it is rooted in my belief that my life must be lived as a response to something beyond myself and my material needs. A sense of a vocational calling affirms that I am uniquely created by God to use my gifts, talents, strengths, and skills to love God, to love my neighbors, and to work toward the fullness of God’s kingdom for this present day and age.