"Don't Ignore The Call" - Amber Parker

I wanted to be a marine biologist when I was younger- specifically one that specialized in sharks. To everyone else, sharks were vicious and violent and killed anything in their way. To me, I thought they were cool because they lost their teeth after every meal, and almost magically grew them back each time. I loved learning about what made them different and special, and felt so passionately about it that I got into an argument with another girl in 2nd grade because she said they were disgusting, and so I said she was disgusting, and thank God for grace, am I right?  

I don’t advocate for sharks, but I do advocate for people with disabilities on a daily basis. Some days I get hit, bit, spit on, or yelled at, and on other days I get to teach new skills, laugh uncontrollably with, and celebrate. My job is hard, and I would be lying if I said I’ve never thought about quitting, but I could never find more joy working anywhere or with anyone else.  

Hebrews 6:7-8 says, “For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.” Let this convict you. Really. Sit with it for a while. For the ‘few moments’ that we are on Earth, we get the honor of glorifying God in all that we do, and our work is nothing short of that. 

Psalm 139 tells us that God knit us together in the womb. Have you ever knit anything? It is a long and intricate process, and God did that with each one of us. In that knitting, He didn’t just say “I think this one will have hazel eyes and buck teeth”, no. He gave us our likes, dislikes, passions, talents, and burdens. We use those in order to glorify the One who gave them to us. We use them to produce ‘useful crops’ like Hebrews says and we get to show the world how beautiful He is through them. There are SO many different areas to work in these days, and not one of them is less meaningful to the kingdom than another. So if you are a nurse or doctor, do your healthcare job unto the Lord. Stay-at-home parents, do your parenting job unto the Lord. Do your foreign missions job unto the Lord. Do your finance, your art, your counseling, your full-time higher education all unto the Lord. They are all gifts, and acts of worship! Do not bury your talents in the ground, friends. Be encouraged that the Lord made you specifically to complete the race He has before you. 

When it gets discouraging (and it will), and you’re feeling run-down, and like you don’t want to go on in your calling anymore, lean into it. Acts 20: 24 says, “but I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” That is our true mission for the few moments that we have. In all that we do, testify to the gospel of the grace of God. We endure and have faith that God would be exalted in everything that we do, and when we go into glory, we will have confidence to say that we did it all with the help of the Lord.