By: Payton M. Ishmael My fourth grade classroom operates much like Wall Street. Each of my twenty-one sweet little angels has a job that they are responsible for completing each day. The first couple days, or perhaps weeks of the school year, we might slip up and forget a task or two in the process of getting acquainted with our daily routine. It doesn’t take long, though, until the hours of 7:30-3:30 function succinctly like New York City’s financial district; days that present new experiences, but individual agendas that rarely stray from day to day.
When everyone is present and participating, the days go smoothly. Since some jobs are pre-requisites for others, the students realize how important their responsibilities are. Without them actively fulfilling their duties, the entire operation of the work environment suffers. The same is true of life. We have not just been given a purpose, no, but were created specifically for a divine plan. I can’t pinpoint anyone’s calling, I continue to struggle in finding my own. I do know, however, that I am not adequate to fulfill your responsibilities, nor you mine. I cannot take the place of the preacher, musicians, or singers. I can barely balance my own checkbook, so I can’t take on the role of the church clerk. I’m not an electrician. I can’t run the sound. I don’t even know how to start a motorcycle. But if one of these people decided not to pursue their purpose, imagine the loss we would be forced to endure.
I know from experience that when 9 and 10-year-olds either elect not to fulfill their duties or simply forget, chaos abounds. Our to-do list doesn’t get finished, organization is compromised, and confusion reins. Individual accountability is required for the efficient functioning of any organization.
Take for example, life as we know it. We each have gifts and callings. If we are not pursuing these, we are depriving not only ourselves, but those around us. There shouldn’t be a conundrum of crediting the wrong person for a job well done, because we should be taking care of our own business. “For the sake, of the call, I am laying down my own. No turning back. We’re looking straight ahead. It’s all for the sake of the call.”
When we deny, avoid, or ignore the divine road map that has been constructed especially for us, we’re dealing a terrible injustice to the operation of life. Don’t call on someone to do a job that’s been given you. You are a crucial piece of this puzzle we call purpose.
Step up. Step out. Move forward. Your purpose is waiting…
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