Is God calling you?

By Mary Olenick
September/October 2009

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Have you ever asked yourself what is our mission in life or where is God calling you? We are all called to be missionaries—to love and serve God in our daily lives by loving and serving others. Not everyone is called to go overseas; there is also a need to be a missionary within our homes, families, communities, towns and cities. Sometimes our life experiences dictate where we are called to be; God can work through whatever means, using the ordinary to bring about the extraordinary.

Mary Olenick with women from her community in Malawi where she served for six years. In 2007, Mary returned to Canada to coordinate Scarboro’s Lay Mission Office along with lay missioner Kate O’Donnell.

When I think of God’s call to each of us, two scripture readings come to mind. One is Luke 1:26-38 in which the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce that God had chosen her to be the mother of Jesus. The other is 1 Samuel 3:1-10 when Samuel heard someone calling his name three times before he recognized, with the help of Eli, that it was God calling him. In both cases God asked and Mary and Samuel had the freedom to accept or decline. Mary’s reply was, “Be it done to me according to your will” and Samuel’s response was, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”

I remember wanting to be a foreign missionary ever since high school. In my early 50s the desire surfaced again and I struggled with the decision for about a year. When I was finally ready to let God’s will be done in my life, I said in prayer one night, “Okay Lord, if serving as a missionary overseas is what you’re calling me to, please make this clear to me.” And with that I went to sleep. During the night, I awoke to the sound of someone calling my name. I heard it as clearly as if someone was in the room with me. I sat up with a start and said, “What?” Slowly I realized that this was exactly what I had asked for in prayer that night, for God to make it clear that I was being called. I thought about it and was at peace. I no longer doubted my calling nor had anxious moments about how it was all going to unfold.

When we go to mission overseas, we do not need a lot of fancy words or all the answers. After all, Jesus chose as his disciples simple, ordinary people. What we do need is openness, a loving and caring spirit, a listening heart, and the willingness to lend a hand to another and give of our time. For me, being a missionary is to be Christ for someone else. We also need to be people of faith and prayer. Humility and a sense of humour is a must—we will be strangers in another land and culture, learning to adapt, maybe learning a new language, and making mistakes, and we need to be able to laugh at ourselves.

Each of us is unique and gifted by God. We’re not meant to work alone, but together as brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ sharing our gifts for the glory of God. It’s not always easy being in mission but the long-term, lasting benefits are out of this world. Instead of air conditioning, hot showers, our favorite TV shows, or our favorite comfort food, we will experience cold showers, power outages, lots of bugs, and toilets that don’t always flush. However the important perks that we will receive are more valuable than we can imagine. We will experience another culture in another land, where the poor teach us what is really important in life. They endure great hardships without complaint and without losing their faith, and they live a joyful, simple life, which I learned to embrace.

It’s only natural to be concerned about the people we leave behind when we go to mission overseas. Some are elderly: Will they still be here when I return? Some are very close to us: Can I live without them? Without God’s grace and guidance we could never do this. I believe that if we turn our lives over to God and say like Samuel, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening,” or like Mary, “Be it done to me, according to your will,” we will not be disappointed. God is a God of surprises and as a missionary I know you will be in for a very exciting and life-changing journey.

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