The church is glowing with yellow light during evening Lenten services. I am in seventh grade, and I cry because it’s so beautiful. I have a sense of God’s presence, as though one of us, at least, should give our life to ministry. Could it be me?
I decided to become a deaconess for two silly reasons. One is because of the Lenten tears. The other is because a mission pastor came through our little town one day and told our class that the Lord had need for pastors, teachers, missionaries and deaconesses. He said a word I had never heard before: deaconess. Years later, because I “accidentally” went to a university that had a training program for church workers, I fell in with deaconess students and was inspired by these bright, passionate, committed young women.
I leaned toward the sense of baptismal calling that God had begun in me. I made the commitment. I wanted to be part of God’s team for doing good in the world. Again the tears came, tears of joy, and I was personally at peace.
How do you discern God’s call? Are you inspired by others? Do your tears speak your heart? Has someone pointed out your gifts?”
This message was adapted from “Called to Service” written by Diane Marten that first appeared in the July/August 2008 issue of Lutheran Woman Today (now Gather) magazine.