Follow the Call

I have a new word: “whelmed”! It comes from David Pyle, who recently wrote a great blog post titled “To Live Life Whelmed.” Describing the excitement and challenge he has experienced over the last few months (as a ministerial intern), Pyle writes, “I felt like I was living life at or near my capacity to live life. I was whelmed, not overwhelmed.”

I too have been “whelmed” recently too. And it’s not simply a product of being busy, as David notes. Being “whelmed” is different. It comes from the confluence of doing things that are meaningful, spiritually nourishing, and have a positive impact on the world.

I think this is what most people want in terms of life balance. We want to be of use, but not to be used. We want to contribute to the world in a meaningful way, but not to feel that we are wearing ourselves down to the nub in the process. We want to feel that our gifts are being revealed and celebrated.

In a spiritual sense, being “whelmed” can translate into having a sense of calling. Looking back on my life choices, the few times when I have had the strong sense of being called by God, I’ve followed that call to greater fulfillment and engagement with the world.

This has implications for church life. Congregations do not benefit from desperately stuffing volunteers into the most needy committees. Instead, volunteers should be encouraged to discover and pursue what they are being called to do. I’ve been on both sides of the “stuffing” model for church: I’ve been asked to do things that I’m not called to (and that I don’t think even need to get done), and I’ve asked others to do things that they’re not really called to (and that I only think need to get done). It’s not a good scene.

When we do things we aren’t called to do and we don’t have to do, then we miss out on discovering what the sacred is calling us to do. And when we pressure other people to take things on that they don’t need to do and aren’t called to, then we get in the way of letting the sacred work in their life.

Leave a little space for the divine to come calling. And let other people do the same.