A friend one time asked me to answer the question, “what does living your ‘calling’ means to you and what does it look like in your life?”

We tend to think our calling, or our purpose, is to do something grand, to accomplish something. We tend to look at what the world considers valuable, or we look at what other people are doing to see if we measure up. We tend to think that what we are doing is not important, so our calling or purpose must be something else.

I have come to realize that my “calling” is to BE something, more than it is to DO something.

I am thankful that God helped me to realize that my calling is less about what I do, and more about who I am.

It is about how I show up no matter what I am doing. I have come to understand that who I am, my words and my actions, wherever I go or whatever I am doing is what is important. Do I have courageous faith? Do I trust God in all things? Am I being loving, kind, gracious to others? Am I accepting of others as they are? Am I thoughtful and encouraging? Am I taking responsibility for my life? Do I love fiercely? Do I walk in integrity? Do I express gratitude? Am I a person who embodies faith?

I realized that I have all the purpose and meaning I am ever going to have no matter what I do, because God created me with it. (God created you with all your meaning and purpose too. You cannot gain more by what you do.)

So, this job verses that job is not going to make me more purposeful. Or achieving some goal or some amount of success does not make me more valuable.

I am full of purpose and value because God made me. And the same is true for you.

In this place of security, grounded in His love for us, knowing our worth and value are in who God says we are, we have the freedom to choose to do whatever we would like in life, whatever we are good at, whatever lights our soul on fire.

And then we choose to think, “this is exactly the life I was created to live.”

When we live in this Truth, knowing our worth and value are in Jesus Christ who loves us completely, we can love God and love others, as He calls us to, no matter what we are doing. That is what is important.

When we come to know God’s deep and abiding love for us in real and tangible ways then we can love everyone in our life well. We live in love not to earn our value but because God calls us to it and equips us for it. We trust in His love for us and rely on Him as our Source.

My calling is to love God, to know His love in a deep and personal way, then to allow His Love to overflow through me to whoever I interact with in whatever I am doing.

This is what God has called all of us to: Love the Lord your God with all you heart, soul, mind, and strength. And love your neighbor as yourself.

I ask myself, how do I be loving? What would love do? How would love show up? What does love sound like? How does love act? What does love say? How do I practice unconditional love?

I choose to think loving thoughts and practicing being loving and then the actions follow.

Along the way, it became extremely important to me to not just say I love my husband and say I love my sons but to show them in meaningful and tangible ways through my actions.

I choose to think about all the amazing things about each of them. I choose to celebrate and encourage them. O choose to accept them as they are and not try to make them something else.

I have found that when I drop my expectations of people and practice appreciating who they are, how God made them, showing up in love, everyone’s lives are better.

My calling is to choose to think on God’s Truth, and to practice choosing Truth over the lies of this world. When I do this, I live from a secure place knowing my worth and value are in Jesus Christ able to offer grace and kindness and understanding to others in whatever I do and wherever I am.