Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Discerning What to Discern

Abi Strait is the new 2013-2014 Micah Fellow at ECH!  She comes to us from Wisconsin via Lutheran Volunteer Corps in Delaware, where she worked at the Ministry of Caring. As a Fellow in the Life Together Program, she'll be splitting her time between ECH and our mother-parish, Christ Church Cambridge. 

My blog post today will be full of half-thoughts, I can already tell. So please bear with me.

My community members and I were talking last night about discernment - about finding a balance between things one likes/is good at and the opportunities one has to actively seek help and create justice in the world.

This is something I've struggled with a lot; and I'm sure I'm not alone in that. I've frequently heard advice from people I trust and admire about making your vocation the intersection of what you enjoy doing and where your skills are. And I do think there is a lot of truth in that. But my fear is: will this intersection for me be "enough"? Will it lead me to a career that serves and is fulfilling to anyone but myself? So I hesitate.

I don't want to go too far towards the other end either; to focus too hard on jobs with "maximum impact" and end up unhappy and bitter because it isn't something I have the skills or the passion for. And how could that type of person be the best one for the job at that point - wouldn't I end up doing a disservice to whatever cause or injustice I'm trying to serve by placing myself in that position? Again, I hesitate. 

So here I sit with a half-finished post, ending, once again, without a solid answer or solution. I don't know the secret to finding this balance between doing something one is good at and something that accomplishes more than making one's self content. I haven't even figured out what that will mean for myself yet. But I most certainly will write on this again, especially when I approach the end of my service year here and these questions become more pressing. And I welcome thoughts (fully formed or otherwise) from you all on this too.

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