How do you know? The first installation.

Welcome! And Happy New Year!

One of the most common questions about trying to figure out what God is calling us to is: How do you know? Oftentimes we are looking all over the place for signs, and sometimes screaming up to Heaven for God to JUST TELL ME!!! Well, there are a few simple ways that we may have some idea, and then there is a sure way beyond these simple ways. Let's look at each one over the next several weeks...

The First Simple Way: Know yourself!
Although it is simple, it may not be easy. We sometimes don't like to look at our lives to know who we are. This may be because we are afraid of what we will find. What if we don't like who we really are? Or, we are currently comfortable with our lives, so why upset things, even though we have this nagging question? It may even be that we find it hard to believe that anyone who really knows who we are could like us. So, we have spent so much time living up to an image we think people expect, that we haven't really been true to ourselves.
But, the truth is, God has made each of us for a specific purpose. And since we are made that way, then wouldn't there be some clues in how we, ourselves, are sort of "built." What I mean is, who we are meant to be is who we have been growing into. So, our deeper or first inclinations, or those things that excite us or drive us further, or the real, underlying reason we get out of bed in the morning can all be indications of what we were made for. What would your answer would be for that classic bumper sticker that says: "I'd rather be ____"? When you look back on any given day, at any moment in your life, what do you find has been your response? Where were you when you were supposed to be somewhere else? What were you doing rather than what you were "supposed" to be doing?
For me, before I was a priest, it all kind of started when I realized that instead of hanging out with my girlfriend at the time, my first inclination, or the thing I found myself doing was helping people. Sometimes taking the time out to listen to people who had problems. Then I realized my first desire, really, was to serve people, and help them heal.

Tell me what you think. Ask me more.