I admit to navigating Facebook into the crazy quizzes to find out where I might be from or what color describes me or what kind of friend I might be.  I am usually amused by the findings and I never share the results.  But this particular quiz caught my eye:  “What is your True Calling?”

I started answering the goofy questions by choosing the responses as close to possible to how I would really answer the questions.  My true answer was never available, and I was sure the conclusion would be the same as the calling of many of my friends:  a philosopher. While I knew my true calling could never be a philosopher, I waited for the calculating to be done. Imagine my surprise when I was told that my true calling was . . . a Stand- Up Comedienne.  I laughed so hard I almost fell out of my chair when I read it. It was not my calling or any sort of reality.  The idea was ridiculous, right?

But then I got to thinking.  I do stand up a lot at my work, and I do talk to people a lot.  I don’t tell jokes, but I do want those whom I encounter to feel welcomed and safe and encouraged.

That is why I have a stool in my desk area, in the middle of a college bookstore, where I can let students sit and we talk.  Sometimes it’s a place of quiet, as student workers need a place to rest.  Sometimes it’s a place of sharing how the day is going. Sometimes it’s a place where the Kleenex becomes a part of our time together.  Sometimes the students hold the teddy bear that always sits on my stool.  And, occasionally, I’ll ask a student or co-worker to sit in my chair so that I can sit on the stool and talk to them.

My job is about books in a college bookstore, but  my calling is to be a stand-up person who is authentic with and caring for all  of those I encounter every day. be that student, co-worker or fellow staff and faculty.  I recently have become the oldest employee in my place of work, and I now feel the added calling of being the team encourager in the midst of such transition and uncertainty.

That is what I have been called by God to do, daily, with everyone: listen and encourage and  hug and love.  And during these times, if I happen to make someone laugh, it’s a bonus!

stool image by s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com