Follow Your Calling by Katie Thrailkill

Look around the world today and what do you find? Most would immediately respond with answers like war, global warming, AIDS, cancer, starvation, and increasing fuel prices. Look harder, however, and those with different perspectives will be found and respond differently. They too see the problem of the war, but they also see hardships in the lives of families with deployed fathers. They too see cancer as a huge threat, but can feel for the families who have a sick child and need somewhere to stay while they are being treated miles away from home.

I realized all this a short time ago when I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Omaha with my 4-H club. I toured the Ronald McDonald house which provides a home away from home for families with sick children being treated in Omaha. I also ventured into the Douglas/Sarpy County Extension Office. Here, I was informed about the Operation Military Kids Program. They send a backpack full of goodies called a Hero Pack to a child with a deployed parent, along with a letter from a child in which they display their gratitude. I ended the day organizing a GPS Easter egg hunt for the children at Offutt Air Force Base.

On the car ride home, my 4-H leader discussed with us the people we had met that day. She asked me if I had met anyone who was following a call in their life. It seemed to me that everyone I had met was following their calling. They had felt a strong passion and desire towards something that would brighten the lives of others.

I believe that everyone has a calling in their lives that should be discovered and followed. It is through these callings that people find joy in their lives. The world is made a better place each and every time someone realizes their calling and acts on it.

My advice to discover a calling is to have an open mind. It is easy to recognize a problem in the world, but it is hard to solve. I know that solving a problem can seem impossible. That is why it is important to look for smaller problems within the big problem and address these. For example, someone saw the problem of war but also saw the lesser problem of a father s deployed family. They addressed the problem by sending the kids Hero Packs, to let them know their sacrifice and bravery is appreciated.

If we all discover what problem we are being called to address, even if it is very small, all the little differences will add together to make one gigantic difference in the end.