1. If The Work Seems At First Impossible

“Every noble work is at first impossible.” – Thomas Carlyle

Not every dream or calling we’re going to have is something that has ever been done before.  We may receive a calling where only a few have ever dared to venture.  But if we are certain of our purpose, must we turn back because of our fears?

Note that the impossibility in this perspective comes more from the outside than from within.  Deep within, you KNOW that you can accomplish your calling. You may even already have a clear idea HOW you’re going to accomplish it.  But then you hear all the many voices around you, voices that seem to say you CAN’T!

Come by a quiet place for a while.  Lock yourself up in a quiet room, and there before God’s Presence, be still.  Listen only to His voice, and then see what the response of your heart will be.  You might well hear your own heart excitedly saying YES!

Look at the world around you.  It may seem like an immovable, implacable place.  It is not.  With the slightest push – in just the right place – it can be tipped. – Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point

2.  The Value of Time and of Small Efforts

When transitioning, it is important to realistically assess one’s timeframe towards achieving our goals.  We should have set deadlines for ourselves so as not to continuously put off what needs to be done.  More importantly, we should never underestimate the value of time and what we can do today.  What can we do today?

We often think that for all that we want to get done, we have but very little time to fit it all with the limited time we have.  But this thinking doesn’t help us in any way.  It only overwhelms us, freezing our efforts and sooner or later stops us from doing anything of value with the time we do have.

The truth is that we can do a lot today, not A LOT in terms of thinking about EVERYTHING we need to do, but A LOT in such a way that we can SPREAD all the things we need to do through the timeframe that we do have.

For instance, we may do only so much TODAY, but if we do valuable things today and with every succeeding day, we can do A LOT through a timeframe of TWO YEARS!  That’s 730 days! Imagine if we only spend one hour a day in doing valuable things that contribute to our goals, then we’d have already spent 730 hours by that time.  Start little by little, brick by brick, hour by valuable hour and your little efforts will yield BIG results in due time.

3.  The Persistent Voice of Calling

One of the usual signs of a true calling is its PERSISTENCE. It’s like there is a persistent voice that cannot rest until you listen to it, until you heed it.  It’s that DREAM you’ve had ever since and never seems to vanish no matter how much you try to bury it.

Hence, to most of us, it no longer seemed real, it had just been our SECRET DREAM, that dream we rarely reveal to others for fear of being ridiculed or joked at.

Even then, it doesn’t vanish.  And in times when life seem empty and meaningless, it calls us again, whispering clues as to which doors remain open for us to go to.

When Mother Teresa was called to serve the poorest of the poor, her spiritual advisor urged her to forget about it.  She tried, but she couldn’t ignore the noble task God has planned for her all along.

4.  Providence Will Come!

“Let us more and more insist on raising funds of love, of kindness, of understanding, of peace. Money will come if we seek first the Kingdom of God – the rest will be given.”
-Mother Teresa

Providence comes just at the RIGHT TIME we needed it, not before, and certainly not too late!

When we’re just starting out with our calling, we may fear we’d lack the resources we need in order to accomplish it.    It’s but natural and prudent to think of provisions, but it requires faith to take the first step out of our comfort zones!  How much prudence indeed is necessary?  How much money do we need in order to accomplish our goals?  To some people, it never becomes sufficient.

Wisdom and faith should both play a part in our discernment and actions.  It isn’t enough to be wise, yet many times, it also isn’t enough merely to leap forward without thinking about our plans.

There are times when we do need to step back and wait until we have enough resources.  But there are times when we have to move on and allow God to also work his miracles in our lives.

Mother Teresa didn’t wait to be a millionaire in order to help the poor.  She carried out her mission by helping one person at a time.  Along the way, help arrived.  People came to reach out in service.  Philantrophists gave out generous sums and helped her raise millions to help the poor all over the world!

“My daughter, I assure you of a permanent income on which you will live.  Your duty will be to trust completely in my goodness, and my duty will be to give you all you need.  I am making Myself dependent upon your trust:  if your trust is great, then My generosity will be without limit.” – (Jesus to Sister Faustina, Diary of Divine Mercy)

5.  You Can Always Begin Somewhere

We can’t wait for everything to be perfect before we proceed with our dreams.  We have to begin somewhere, and we CAN!

When we’re really able to seek our true passion, we’d be able to find a channel for expressing it right where we are.  We don’t have to wait until we’re the executive of a big company, or when we become a chef of a big hotel, or a famous singer or celebrity.  We can express our passion NOW.

If you have a passion for singing, you can sing right now right where you are.  You can inspire the people around you.  You can lift your voice to God as though in prayer, offering your most sacred work, your passion.

If you have a passion for writing, you can write right now.  You can contribute a poem to your school or company paper.  You can even blog about it over the internet.  There are countless social media sites you could use in order to reach people.

We wait longer than is necessary.  Along the way, our souls become empty, they die slowly, until the flames of passion vanish from our hearts.  Why allow your soul to die? Begin today, live today, this is the only time we are certain to possess.

“Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it.” -Goethe

What is a desert experience?  Why do we need to undergo such a time of difficulty, suffering and emptiness before we could receive our true calling?

“I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert… There I will give her back her vineyards.” (Hosea 2:14-15, NIV)

Even Jesus needed a desert experience before He started out on His ministry, His true calling.  He needed the desert to give Him what a life of comfort and luxuries could never be able to give.

We need a desert experience:

1. To empty ourselves of our false callings and dreams

A desert experience will test us, it will challenge our beliefs, our values, our dreams.

Imagine a true desert, arid as it is where almost no plant ever grows and few animals ever dare live.  It will not pay respect to all your trivialities.  It will lay bare your true substance.  It will remind you that you are naked, that you have brought nothing with you when you were born, and you will bring nothing back when you die.

In the face of death, what’s left to give importance to?  What really matters anyway?

Away from the desert, you may have fooled yourself into believing that there is no death, that you can squander your time with things that don’t really matter in the end.

The desert asks you, what is it that really matters most to you?  What is the meaning of your life?  If you are to die now, how will you sum up your life?  Was there any difference that you have lived at all?

Most people never come to the realization of their true calling because they haven’t allowed themselves to experience the desert, the emptiness that comes before being filled.

2.To feel what we need most aside from physical bread

In the midst of emptiness and thirst, we are faced with the question, does man live by bread alone?  If we do, then why aren’t we satisfied after merely eating just like the other animals?  Why is it that we desire something more?

What is it that we thirst for?  What is it that truly drives our lives?  Is it the thirst for more and more wealth and comfort?  Is it the thirst for power, to have control over other men?  Are we really going to be happy after we’ve attained such things?

3.  To receive our true calling as our first gift from God

It is only after being emptied that we may receive what God truly wants to give us.  It is only by first recognizing our true hunger that God may be able to give of His bread to satisfy us.

Our dream job, our true calling, is not only a mission God gives us to give to the world, it is first and foremost a gift to us. That is why our calling, our joy and our sorrow all melt into a single converging point.

Hence, if it is a thirst for a fatherly love that you feel, it is this same thirst that God will quench within you.  It is this same gift that God will give you.  Before He tells you to share the same gift with the whole world, He wants you to have it first, for it is your source of joy.

After you have known where your wounds are, God comes to heal you, and that healing balm is the gift you’ve been searching for.  It is first of all a gift for you, a gift you’d want to share to the world in order to fulfill your greatest dream.

What is the driving force behind everything that you do?  Is it fear?  Is it anger?  Is it greed?  Is it doubt?  My friend, there is only one thing that can ever make you happy, and that is LOVE.