A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…
Well, ten years ago in a town in the south of England.
Fresh from university, I was beginning to explore a possible call to ordained ministry. I spoke to the vicar of my childhood church, and she talked me through the process. She explained that it was long, and that multiple people would need to affirm the calling.
But that was necessary.
Ministry is hard. There may be times when a minister is tempted to doubt themselves and question whether they really are called. The discernment process gives them something to look back on. Something to remember. Something to reassure them when the road feels uncertain.
Her words have stayed with me, and looking back now I can appreciate the wisdom she was sharing.
Recently, a friend shared a post on social media. It spoke honestly about the pressures clergy face and how easy it is to burn out. It then listed eight ways clergy could build resilience.
Number six said: remember your call.
Sometimes, in the midst of busyness, when pressures and expectations pile up, it can be easy to forget why we do things. That is probably true in every vocation, but I suspect it is especially true for clergy.
There can be expectations to have answers to global, local, and personal crises. There is pressure to grow churches and support communities. In the middle of all that, it is easy to lose sight of why you began in the first place.
The advice in the post read:
“Remember the moment you first felt called. The people who believed in you. The reason you said yes in the first place.”
Those words echo something Paul wrote to Timothy in Second Epistle to Timothy: “Fan into flame the gift of God that is in you.”
I love that image. Fire needs oxygen. Without space to breathe, a flame can be smothered. Yet even a struggling flame can be revived when it is gently fanned back into life.
Calling can feel like that sometimes. The pressures and stresses of ministry can threaten to smother it. But the flame can still be stirred again. Sometimes we simply need to remember.
Remember why we said yes.
Remember the people who encouraged us and believed in us.
Remember the God who called in the first place.
If that is you, in a vocation you once felt clearly called to but are now close to burning out, perhaps take a moment to remember why you said yes.
And if you know someone who carries a calling, whether in church leadership or elsewhere, perhaps ask them about it. Help them remember.
Because our journeys matter. God is present in them. And sometimes remembering the past gives us the courage to keep going.
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