What is Your Calling? Is it Calling You Now?
“What a man can be he must be.” -Abraham Maslow
25, Mentor, Tim Ballard
How one man found himself by freeing child slaves around the world…
Hope Amidst Inhumanity
On July 24, 1984 I swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the State of California. As a new peace officer I was shocked to witness examples of “man’s inhumanity to man.”1 I was torn apart by the wanton disregard for the souls of individuals. I found some consolation in recognizing that the people I had to deal with were a small percentage of the total population. Certainly most people want to live in peace and will go out of their way to bless the lives of others. I still believe in and am inspired by the goodness and resilience that I see all around. Sadly, that does not mitigate the burdens of individuals who are in any kind of bondage. Each human has purposes to be discovered. Everyone should have a dream and find joy.
Since that first day in service I have sought for and prayed to find ways to make a difference and to offer hope where little or none existed. Every act that offers even a glimmer of hope to someone opens the door, gives him the freedom to begin to change his world. One juvenile court official explained to me that offering any bit of hope or glimpse of freedom is like giving someone a few chips to get back in the game.
With so much suffering I have often wondered, what more can I do? Seeing children as victims of sex crimes is especially emotionally debilitating. I could not fathom becoming calloused and living beyond feeling. There is always something we can do. As long as I pray and watch for opportunities, they always present themselves. But, is my offering adequate? Can I listen for and pray for something greater to offer more freedom to more people?
Overcoming Bondage
In the dichotomy of opposites in life, where there is pain and suffering there is opportunity for good. God has given us the gift of healing when we learn to serve as he serves. If we recognize God’s influence we can rise to the highest levels even after experiencing the lowest lows. There is no greater joy than reaching out to free others from captivity of any kind. Another joy is to find your own way out of the captivity of the blind eye of prejudice, the exasperation of addiction, depression from defeat, or in trying to live within the bounds of a stifling society.
In the Americas, slavery pressed down on the souls of millions of humans from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. Through internal strife, prayer and sacrifice, many heard a voice calling them to take great risks to provide freedom for all. Those with the courage to follow the promptings took action.
On December 1, 1862, one month before signing the Emancipation Proclamation, President Abraham Lincoln addressed Congress, saying,
“The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion.”
Can You Hear Your Calling?
There is plenty of need in the world. One of the great challenges in life today is how to listen to our own spirit, to discover our purpose, find our passion, and have the courage to take it on.
Too often, distractions and discouragement divert our attention. Our ears wax over as we hunker down to be what society has programmed us to be. Our vision also clouds over when we perceive failure to live up to our own expectations. It is so easy and convenient to slip into the routine of daily life, to conclude that it none of it matters after all. Sometimes we hear a disturbing voice from within saying “what might have been?” We can choose to drown out that voice, or take courage and listen to it. That thought can either motivate us to action or lead us to conclude that it’s too late, to give up. Though we may not always recognize it, it really is a matter of choice.
True, we can’t go back and change the past. Our experiences in life have brought each of us to the present moment. Of course most of us would “do it differently” next time. But in that “dream scenario”, each of us would end up being someone other than who we are today.
“You had to go through what you went through to get to where you are today.” –Wayne Dyer, 10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace
If we internalize our burdens we lose sight of who we are and shut down our own voice. Processing our burdens, that is learning from them and moving forward with enhanced wisdom, we can enjoy where we are now and move forward with hope. If we wait until we are perfect to find joy, we will be perpetually disappointed. If we become mired in self-disappointment, guilt or shame, we end up trying to cover it all up and become stuck right where we are. Or worse, we become a stranger to ourselves, a stranger that we do not recognize.
Searching for Meaning
When we accept God’s healing hand we move forward. We develop the courage to get to our core self. In that place we find purpose and meaning in life. Here hearts are softened. Hope is renewed. Fear is squashed. Freedom and joy triumph. We can hear our enabling voice from within; that voice gives us the power to reach out.
Viktor Frankl survived the lowest of lows while captive in concentration camps. Yet he found in life meaning beyond himself, making a difference where he could, day by day. Though he was physically captive, he chose how to live his life in his own realm of freedom. Through experiences he would never have chosen, he actually discovered success. He described success as moving beyond one’s self:
“Don’t aim at success — the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself.” Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning.
When a Deeper Success and Purpose Finds You
Timothy Ballard is the founder of Operation Underground Railroad, freeing children around the world from slavery. He was working his job, fulfilling his career goals. He was fighting terrorism. He was truly making a difference in the world. He was successful in his career. Yet another success awaited him.
In his work he saw the devastation around the world of child slavery through sex trafficking. It hit him to the core. His emotional pain brought him new vision. What could he do to overcome the pain that he felt for the victims of human trafficking?
He suddenly found himself “in the right place at the right time.” His path continues and is not easy. The emotional burdens are great. He chooses to listen to promptings and through faith to act on his impressions. From the first moment he heard this calling he knew the road would be difficult.
Tim is leading the way for thousands of people who he refers to as “abolitionists”. They are discovering the same vision and are now supporting Operation Underground Railroad. Others are inspired to reach out in their own ways. In finding purpose in life, they are blessed with greater freedom, freedom to know who they are and how they can serve.
In his address to Congress, President Lincoln noted,
“In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free..”
Each child that is freed from bondage has the hope to move forward and find his own purpose in life, to find his own calling to serve.
Freedom is a gift. Each of us has God-given purposes. We can express our gratitude through serving.
