Misery to Ministry

“We are always more anxious to be distinguished for a talent which we do not possess, than to be praised for the fifteen which we do possess.” ~Mark Twain, American writer and humorist (1835-1910) from “Mark Twain’s Autobiography”

The bright morning sun glittered on the fresh dew. The sliding glass door closed behind me rattling slightly as it clicked home. I stood there pondering what had just happened…sensing a change in my life’s direction.

Two weeks earlier, in my capacity as Capital Campaign Chair I had met with Monsignor to discuss the parish capital campaign and the upcoming building project. Monsignor had agreed to consider my recommendation to hire a full time development coordinator.

Yesterday he had called and asked me to meet with him following the 7:30 AM Mass. We carried our steaming cups of coffee to his office. After a modicum of chit chat we got down to business. I quickly recapped my original proposal; then folding my hands I asked, “What do you think?”

“What about you?” he asked simply. “What about me?” I responded, not grasping what he was inferring. “What about you for the job,” he clarified his eyes twinkling.

“Yes…of course I’ll do it,” I replied, hearing the words, but not realizing I had said them. “Fabulous,” Father Gary said with a grin. We agreed to a start date, shook hands and I left.

Now outside in the cool, clear morning air, the brevity of what I had just done began to sink in. The career I had nurtured in the insurance industry for over twenty years would forever be in my rear-view mirror. Not to mention I had neglected to ask what I would be paid. What was I thinking? How was I going to explain this one to my wife? “Teresa will think I’ve lost it!” I headed for the car trying to devise the best possible explanation why I had done, what I had done.

Four and a half weeks later I found myself ensconced in my new desk, located where the dining area use to be. (The parish office is in a converted house. “Even our office was a Catholic convert,” someone once quipped.)

The insurance agency where I worked had negotiated a four week notice rather than two. In the interim I shared my concern about the probable drop in income with Chris the Fitness Director at the YMCA where I taught classes. Chris arrange for me to teach additional classes, and pick up some fitness coach and life guarding hours. The real miracle was that I was now doing two things I loved (teaching classes and working for the Church) which ultimately resulted in no change in annual income.

Why is it we can be so critical when we think someone “threw away a perfectly good career” to do something meaningful they felt compelled to do. There is tremendous joy, energy and fulfillment in doing what God created us to do. As stewards of our talents we are called to discover and develop that special blend of abilities which makes us who we are.

Yet we are often distracted from our life’s work by the siren’s song of power and prestige. We shoulder and elbow our way into so-called careers with the expectation that income alone is the answer to our happiness or we buy into a bad case of “job title fulfillment”. But with each promotion and/or pay raise we still find ourselves wanting. Wondering why we are not happy even though we “have a good job.”

Pay, power and prestige provide no lasting answers. Life long satisfaction comes from doing what we are called to do, not what makes us look good or succumbing to the latest fad profession (Crime Scene Investigators are currently trendy).

It comes as no surprise many of our saints share this story. People like Francis, Ignatius, and Augustine, finding no satisfaction in their chosen careers, yearned for something more meaningful and fulfilling. You know the rest of the story.

So, why do we persist in working for “the bread which fails to satisfy” when, as unique creations of a loving God, we were put here with a purpose in mind? When we gratefully accept our God-given talents, work to develop them and use them for this purpose, improving the world around us, happiness and satisfaction will ultimately be ours. Then and only then will our work become an outward expression of our faith and being, rather than the inward validation of our ego.

Who would have thought going from the corner office to the corner of a dining room could be fulfilling…but it was!

Dear God: Fulfill the work you have begun in us Lord.

“Your talent is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God” ~Leo Buscaglia, PhD, American professor, author and motivational speaker (1924-1998)


© 2010 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.

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