What are we called to?

This jovial fellow decorates the vegetable garden at Baddesley Clinton (a NT property) and easily catches the eye. The bright colours, the flower in the hat, the broad smile and the open welcoming arms all carry a clear message  –  but it is hardly the ‘clear off!’ that scarecrows are supposed to say.
It prompts the question about ‘calling’. What is it that God is calling us, as individuals, to be and to do?
Often, like the scarecrow, what God asks of us does not seem to fit with our obvious, presenting, abilities. For myself, with a career in art education and a love for creating, but not the academic life, I discovered myself back at college training for ministry in the Church. Creative gifts have found a place within this ministry, but the craftsman covered in clay would not be recognised by many as the minister in his cassock!
So, what might this mean for you who are reading this? Well, simply sensing the promptings of God’s Spirit – often found in the things that challenge us and urge our action, as well as in the insights others have regarding your particular gifts.
Once the visitors have left the vegetable garden the scarecrow, no doubt, discovers his true calling. It is not the arms of welcome but a loud ‘clear off!’ to the birds.

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