Sometimes it can take a while to really find our purpose, or maybe we have different purposes that express our one call to follow Jesus - wherever He may lead us.

There have been times in the last couple of years where I wrestled both with letting things go and knowing which things to pick up. Where are we headed, God? What are the movements of your Spirit in my life that you’re inviting me to follow? What is the work that you’ve put before me?

In the not-to-distant past, a person would graduate High School (and even for some graduating was a privilege), head off to college or trade school and pick a life-long career. Things don’t go that way any longer, at least for many. In fact, people may go through multiple career changes in their lives to keep living their call to follow Jesus to the ends of the earth.

And then there are some, perhaps you, yes you reading this post right now that is yearning for a change but wondering if it’s too late for you to go in a different direction. I’m writing this to you, so please hear me: It’s not too late to make a change.

I have held several jobs in my life - waitress, car parts driver (hello, Lordco Auto Parts days in the early 90s), full-time Mom (this is a life-long path), Community Relations Liaison for my favourite college & seminary, Executive Director of Advancement, associate pastor, to name a few. And now I’m Adjunct Faculty at my favourite local college & seminary, a Spiritual Care Practitioner working half-time in end-of-life and long-term care, and a doctoral student.

The few above work/school streams feed into my life purpose to support, inspire and minister to those doing spiritual work. My doctoral studies are in Leadership & Spiritual Formation. Both are areas of passion.

When I look back on my life, I can see the movements of God guiding me to different ways of being his servant/witness in the world or different seasons of maturing (ahem, disciplining) and preparing me for what lay ahead. Nothing has been wasted - not even my mistakes.

Friend, if you’re struggling today, thinking you missed the call or the opportunity, you haven’t. It’s not too late to make a change. You have one call in life: to follow Jesus! And your journey into followership can lead you to make many, many changes in your life. Those changes can include vocation changes, location changes, school changes, etc.

And he [Jesus] said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him.  (Matt. 6:19-20)

It’s not too late to make a change. The disciples whom Jesus called in the above text were being asked to leave their careers to start new ones. They were among the first leaders in the early Christian movement.

If you’ve discerned Jesus saying, “Follow me,” then you’ve got places to go. And in the going, it might mean we leave some things behind, and it also means it’s not too late to make a change.

Change well,

Carmen