With reference to the 1980 Blondie song, “Call me on the line, call me, call me, anytime,” I ask, really, anytime? Have you answered a call on your life? Do you have a calling?
Having a strong inner impulse toward a certain vocation, profession, or action is sometimes referred to as a calling. This use of the term can be traced to the 1550s, although it originated in the biblical book of I Corinthians 7:20, where it refers to a position or state in life.
In the mid-13th century, the noun, calling, referred to a summons or invitation. In this sense, if you were called to appear before someone, it was not unlike our modern-day legal summons to appear before a court official, and it isn’t a request, it’s more like a demand.
In 1882, to call, was Middle English, to stand at the door and call out. This reminds me of a familiar scripture from Matthew 7:7-8, ask and it shall be given; seek and you will find; knock, and it shall be opened.
The thing about asking, seeking, and knocking, is that they are action verbs. When you take these actions, you rightly expect a reaction for your effort. However, expectation is key here.
When you ask, you will receive, but you might not receive the answer you expected. When you seek, you might find something altogether different from the thing you sought after. But, with an open mind, you just may get something better than expected. The Rolling Stones put it this way, “you can’t always get what you want… but if you try sometimes, well, you just might find you get what you need.”
When you knock on a door, the one that opens to you might be surprising. What’s behind your door may beckon you inside a maze of paths that lead you in a direction that is not a part of your five-year or twenty-five-year plan.
Don’t be disappointed at your unexpected outcomes. In fact, I’ve encountered a few busy signals in my day. Many times, when we call, we can’t get through. Or we’ve been called, didn’t or couldn’t answer and when we return the call, the line is busy.
I can’t tell you how many true crises we’ve been through that have led to opportunities and an easier course, forward. “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” comes to mind.
This reminds me of a story in current affairs. Let’s say you were called to become a princess, or duchess as it turns out. You expected to be adored worldwide. You thought your job would be to dispense goodwill, dress extremely nicely, wave and smile a lot, travel, and receive thanks for your efforts.
Instead, your job is work, constant, thankless work, helping some folks who don’t care, are ungrateful, and who criticize you to your core. You found that there are plenty of people out there who don’t like who you are and they’re not afraid to shout it to the world.
The nice clothes are fun but somebody somewhere says you’re a cow. Your waves and smiles are said to be fake and some of the travel is just plain dirty and you’re expected to eat some pretty gross stuff, with thanksgiving, trying not to let your face betray your disgust.
Suddenly your dream of becoming a princess has come crashing down around you and your self esteem is damaged, perhaps beyond repair. Your mental health has nosedived and all you can think is you want out of this mess you’ve been called to. You think, “If this is what my calling to be a princess is, I quit. I’m hanging up from this call.”
As a princess, you’ve got the power now to exact revenge on the people who made you a disillusioned princess. Will you wield that power with your eye toward the folks who appreciate the good you are capable of, or will you try with all your might to hurt those who called you to this gilded cage?
Untempered vision is a dangerous thing. Rejected counsel is another. Whole-hog action without a juried plan, is folly.
Be all that you can be, as that princess. It truly is your calling. Become pliable clay in the hands of the one(s) who called you to this task, this place, this job, this family; they know what this calling takes.
The thing about “calling” is that you’re compelled to follow it whether you like it or not. So, learn to like it, some how or another. Be teachable by your fate. You might be surprised by what you’ll learn, I know I have.