Counselor’s Corner Issue 38

Dear Shepherds,

It struck me this week. Right in the middle of Chapter 2, smack in between swaddling clothes and frankincense. I've read it a thousand times but can't get enough of it because there's always new ah-hah moments. And this week's reading didn't disappoint.

There they are, diligently doing their jobs. Their profession. Their calling. It was a normal workday, I mean, work night. In Ellen White's words, "The shepherds life of diligence and care-taking and his tender compassion for the helpless creatures entrusted to his charge has been employed" [Patriarchs & Prophets, Chapter 17]. They were doing what they had been employed to do: Caring for the sheep.

Until the Calling was greater than a profession. It came in the form of light and song and angels. It declared meaningful news and new meaning. It opened their eyes to something beyond their Calling for the lives of their sheep. They saw it now: The Calling on the lives of them!

So they did it. No thought of livelihood. No second-guessing of responsibilities. No double-checking with 'higher-ups.' They just left their job. Walked off the field. No looking back. "Hurried off and found... Jesus" [Luke 2:16].

Right now, this semester, this school year, many teachers are doing it, too. They're walking off and leaving their jobs. They're hurrying away from the stress of Covid-classrooms, hybrid learning, and understaff overkill. They're leaving the Calling for the lives of their sheep and not looking back. Teacher Whitney Ballard writes, "Teaching is my calling but being a teacher has become almost unbearable." In fact, recent We Are Teachers article reports a flood of #quttingteaching videos on TikTok with users sharing the journey of leaving education for good.

But here's the thing. The Shepherds left their lifework to receive the Breath of Life. They abandoned their earthly calling to seek a Heavenly Calling. They walked away from a means to a Meaning.

And then they came back. Once they were renewed, restored, revived, rejoicing by the Spirit in their spirit, they went back to work. "The shepherds RETURNED, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen" [Luke 2:20].

So leave, School Shepherds. Leave the student Christmas gifts until Valentines. Leave the Christmas party in substitution for a midwinter party. Leave the staff gift exchange for an acts of kindness exchange. Leave it all this Christmas season so that you can seek the Caller of your Calling. Leave it, find Him, and RETURN.

With you as you seek Him,
Mindy