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Lots of people are wondering what God is calling them to do. And that is a good question. But on the way to the answer, we fill in many answers. So let me suggest some of the things that God did not call you to.

You are not called to be me.
You are not called to be your mother.
You are not called to be your pastor.
You are not called to be happy all the time.
You are not called to be rich.
You are not called to be as organized as the neighbor on the right.
You are not called to be as disorganized as the neighbor on the left.
You are not called to be as ___ as your uncle dave.
You are not called to be your sister.
You are not called to be the guy in all the ads.
You are not called to be the perfect family.
You are not called to smile every moment.
You are not called to have every answer.
You are not called to say ‘yes’ to every request.
You are not called to work 24/7.
You are not called to read the Bible through every year.
You are not called to measure up.
You are not called to do it all.
You are not called to remember every detail.
You are not called to run their lives.
You are not called to do everything right the first time.
You are not called to be at the church every time the doors open.
(okay, maybe the custodian is, but other than that.)
You are not called to stop everything.
You are not called to save the world.
That was covered.
That’s why we’re called to follow Him.
A step at a time.
And that feeling of relief?
You are called to that.

Tonight I want to tell you my story, or my testimony, as some may call it. 

It started off slow.  See, I was born Catholic and raised Catholic, and for me, the existence of God was never a question.  Even in the darkest times, I knew that Christ was still there, though I didn’t always feel Him with me.  

My childhood was, for the most part, ordinary.  I was always active, carefree, and relatively happy.  I excelled in school, and I was a natural born leader.  However, over time, my childhood successes became less important to me, and instead I began to focus only on my failures and shortcomings.  Consequently, by the time I reached my late teenage years, I developed a profound lack of self-confidence.  With several cases of depression in my family history, I wondered if maybe I was a sufferer of depression as well.  Many times I would wake up with a feeling of deep emptiness and an inexplicable sadness, and with each day, my confidence lessened and lessened.  I began to lose myself, and I questioned everything.  

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