Life is not a rehearsal
Most people wonder what to do with their lives. It is important that you give it some thought. When you get into your teens, you have some serious choices to make. Life is not a rehearsal. You only get one go. We all make mistakes and we learn from them. It is a bit like learning to ride a bike. You learn by trying, falling off, getting back on and trying again. According to John’s Gospel 10:10 (even I can remember that reference), Jesus says “I have come so that they may have life to the full.” We are here to enjoy life. So think about what makes you happy. Don’t just go with the flow and end up in a job you hate.
What are yo u good at?
One thing I have learned over the years is that “Grace builds on nature” (actually one of the cleverest people ever to live, St Thomas Aquinas wrote it nearly a thousand years ago). What he meant is that “You have the skills to be what you are good at”. Some people are good listeners – they make good nurses; some people are good talkers – they make good teachers. God is not stupid. He gives you a job to do and the skills to do it. Some very special people are given the job of being ill – without them we wouldn’t be able to show God’s love to them by caring for them. God gives them the grace to cope. Each of us has gifts, skills, talents and abilities. We have them for a reason.
We are God’s work of art
In the Bible God asks Moses to sort out the Israelites – a big job! So Moses asked God “Who are you? In effect he was asking God if he knew what he was talking about (along the lines of “Who are you to tell me what to do?”) God Said “I AM WHO I AM” or to put it bluntly – I am the one who made you, the world, the universe…..everything. That’s what being God means! God is BIG! And there’s more… He says to you now
UR? UR and I MADE U
You are who you are and God made you and He doesn’t make mistakes. In fact in the Bible it says we are God’s “Work of Art”. It says He dances with delight over us. WOW!
We are all different
Think about what you are good at (be honest), think about what you like doing (as a job of work – after all you are going to be doing it for about 50 years). You will realise that some jobs are just not right for you. That’s OK. God has made us all different. Thank God! Wouldn’t it be a boring world if we were all the same, looked the same, did the same things and thought the same way? That’s why God made us all different. Some jobs you like, other people would hate.
In the Bible St Paul talks about people being the body of Christ. He says if we were all heads, how would we walk about, if the whole body was an ear and we had no noses how would we smell? (Yes I know – Terrible like that joke!) He also says we were made to work together. So if a stone is thrown at your eye, your hand doesn’t say “Its not my problem”. Your hand goes in front of your eye to protect it. That is one way of telling a good bunch of people from a bad one – the good group look after the weakest people, they don’t bully others or let them get hurt. Everyone matters.
Talk to people who do the job you think you might like – Do you like them? Do you want to be like them?
Pray
Pray about it! God likes that and he answers……….Try it…..what have you got to lose? The Bible is full of people who asked God what to do, and what not to do. After all God is pretty clever. He did make the Universe. (And if anyone says He didn’t then you can ask them who did……….and if they say it all happened through a miraculous big bang a long time ago then you can say that is not news because that was written down in the Bible 3,000 years ago…..and if they say it all happened by chance then ask them if they seriously believe that. Even a three year old has worked out that things don’t happen by chance – food appears because parents provide it!)
God knows each of us through and through – our names are written on the palms of His hands. “I love you and I died for you.” is something we all need to hear. Remember that there is only one person like you. There never was and never will be anyone else the same as you. You are Unique and Precious in God’s eyes. A guy who may soon be made a Saint, John Henry Newman put it like this “I have my mission”, he wrote, “I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for nothing. I shall do good, I shall do his work; I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place … if I do but keep his commandments and serve him in my calling.”
You will probably be a parent one day
For most people their main vocation (calling or job) is to be parents. After all, that is the first commandment in the Bible – bring up children. That is not easy and we all make mistakes. Remember this next time you get upset with your parents. Sometimes they are right (be honest – most of the time); but they are human and sometimes they get it wrong. Don’t complain, use it as a way to learn. Your turn to be a parent will come one day. At the end of Mass we hear the words “Go in Peace, Glorifying the Lord by Your Life.” That is a commandment to everyone. But it is also a promise. You will have peace in your heart if you spend your life showing how wonderful God is by being nice to everyone – doing a good job! Remember