I'm not sure what area of ministry I feel called to. Maybe God doesn't want to call me to a specific area. But recently I’ve been wondering if God wants me to be involved in ministry to kids. Not as a career, but as something to do in addition to working, going to church, and living life.
The summer after my freshman year of college I decided not to have another meaningless job. I wanted to do something for God. I didn't make money that summer, because I volunteered at a local mission. They put me to work at a summer program for kids. And that, is actually, quite amusing. I had come up with all of these ideas of how I could serve God that summer. I applied to work at a camp, but I didn’t get hired. I wanted to help out with youth ministry at my church, but they had too much help. I was frustrated because I had a really big desire to serve God somewhere, but nothing was working out. So I called the mission in my area one day and said I would do absolutely anything they wanted, and they put me to work with the summer program for kids. That’s funny because I’ve stayed away from working with kids for a long time. I absolutely love kids, but I’ve never been able to handle large numbers of them at once. My mom was the childcare coordinator at church, so the experience I had with kids was…chaos. Lots of chaos. And for God to find me a place serving with kids was like…ok God…this definitely NOT my plan for the summer, so it must be Yours.
We helped them with reading, writing, and math. We also taught them Bible verses and Bible stories, and just played with them. The fact that I did that all summer is a really big deal to me since I used to hate it so much. And it turned out to be such a fun experience, that I really like working with kids now! I'm still not one of those people that is gifted with children, but I'm not afraid of working with them anymore. =) And then, last semester I got involved with a group in Nashville called Preston Taylor ministries, and I was lunch buddies with a 4th grader named Ronequa. I ate lunch with her every Wednesday. The ministry group has an after-school tutoring program, and some other stuff, like lunch buddies. The idea is to surrond the kids with Christian people as much as possible during the day. All that would fit into my schedule was to be a lunch buddy. She named my car "GoGo the Driving Car." I'm off topic.
So anyway, I'm trying to listen to God in that area. Maybe I'm not supposed to have a specific calling. As a Christian, maybe God just wants me to be involved in different ministries at different times, depending on what is needed. I'm ok with that. I just want to be doing something for God; I don't want to live life for myself. I’m not sure that working with kids is something God wants me to feel like I have to do forever, but He’s definitely been teaching me a lot about myself through that. God can do anything with my life! Especially if it’s something I think I can’t do. That’s so cool.
The reason why finding places to serve God is so important to me is because I spent two years working in a grocery store serving God by being a good employee, and by sharing God's love with the other employees. I know that I can serve God wherever I am because I'm a Christian. But now I just feel a desire for something more. I don't want to just have a job and that be my life. When I had a job in high school, serving God took place in my extra time. I don't want it to anymore. God should not get my extra, leftover time. I don't want to ever have to say "I can't help you, I have to work." I just don't like that idea. I'm so excited because next year I get to help with freshmen small groups at school! I'm so excited! I'm so tired of my life being about my life. I'm so much more joyful when I have other people to care about. And now I will!