Vocation

 

I was reminded last Sunday by our Methodist pastor who spoke in his sermon of a word rarely used today.  That word was vocation. It is somewhat similar to the word calling, which clergymen and women are often said to  to  have experienced. The minister told the story of a young friend of his, who at age 11, told his parents he intended to become a medical missionary. He accomplished that goal by attending medical school, became a pastor, doctored in a small town in Minnesota. There he married and helped raise a family. However, he spent much of his adult life in the small African country of Sierra Leone. There he treated thousands of people where no medical care was available. In semi – retirement he returned to Minnesota  and later returned, at age 84, to Sierra Leone to help fight the spread of the dreaded Ebola. The moral of the pastors message was surely that there are some people in life who spurn the goal of riches and fame, that in the cause of doing good in this world. Something more than a job, something with a mission. I do believe there are people in  jobs and professions, who do that. Not everyone,  but there are some who see their job as a vocation. Nurses, teachers, firemen, social workers, EMTs and so on and on. Let us all remember to give them the respect and honor for what they do, often without much reward, but certainly deserving of our support. Troutbirder (ray)