I truly related this blog post,because it stated the obvious—sometimes our careers are not our vocations, they are just a necessary obligation to uphold finances in our life. Here are a few quotes from the blog that relate to what I’m trying to say, because sometimes other people are able to say things in a more coherent, clear and elegant way.
On careers–
“This is part of life and while it’s not much fun, if you want to eat and provide for your family, it can be necessary. But with vocation, you don’t have to do all the hard work. With vocation, God is involved in the search and there are so many needs out there, doors will start to open that give you clues about where to go and what to be.”
Although, if you’re lucky enough, your vocation and your career CAN match up! (sadly, they often don’t for everybody)
On finding your vocation–
“Give yourself a lot of exposure to works like the legend of St. George and the Dragon, or the Chronicles of Narnia, or the Lord of the Rings … stories and myths that became epics by inspiring courage to try great things that are way over your heads. That’s when you see the greatness of God and the greatness he’s put in you that you might never have suspected was there. These stories show us something about taking the way that is not always comfortable and enduring hardship for the sake of something greater than our own pleasure. They tell us that the battle-scars of love and sacrifice are not a burden, they are an adventure. And the really great tales aren’t just about the biggest, toughest conquerors. They are about children and hobbits and anti-heroes who are scared spitless but do what they have to do for a greater good. These stories also include the importance of selflessly doing the hard things that are boring and frustrating and tiring to get to whatever prize God has in mind.”
More than anyone else in the world, you’ve been able to watch the supernatural love and courage of your mom. If you want to become like anyone in this world, become like her. You didn’t get to see what an Amazon she was pushing each of you 11-pound guys into the world through sweat, blood, agony and shrieking …But you have seen how hard it was for her to suck it up, work hard and take on leading . I know you appreciate it and you love her, but also, remember that you carry her physical and spiritual DNA … there is something of her in each of you. Don’t squander that great and precious gift on what the world tells you that you need to do or be. Give that gift back to God.
I think this idea applies to many people’s lives. On the one hand, you might truly enjoy learning new things and new perspectives. However on the other hand, maybe you don’t have a specific career path. However one’s career path can help them with their vocational path in many ways. That can be the magic in it sometimes—a career may not necessarily get you to the top or guarantee you amazing wages, yet if it can help a person discover their vocation, that might be what is truly more important. I’m telling you, it’s all about the journey.
At the end of the day, vocation will boil down to surrendering to what God (the Universe) has for you, because it’s far better than anything we’ll dream up for ourselves.