This piece originally appeared on Amy's blog "A Fresh Breath ." It appears here with permission from the author as part of What's Your Calling's Blog Tour.

I was approached recently to write a blog post for a community - whatsyourcalling.org. I love how these requests seem to come at such opportune times- circumstances when I'm actually considering the question they are asking me to answer/reflect on in the post.

The world "Calling" seems so big sometimes, doesn't it? It sends us down a winding path of self exploration, discussions about "passion", and it might even be a word that we avoid - because their is fear in the fact that we don't know what it is. I know I've been in seasons of my life where that question seemed so big- and I was SO aware of my inadequacy or distance from the answer. But as I've progressed through my short life, there are two things that I've realized. First, the "calling" is as much about the "Caller" as it is about the one receiving and executing the Call. And second, there are two different types of "callings". One is seasonal, the other is life-long.
Sometimes, when I don't have a grasp on what it is my life's purpose might be- or if I feel as if I'm not fulfilling that purpose- it might be worth taking a look at who God is as a means of discovering what's next. Allow me to explain. Looking at the character of God tells us a lot about how He wants His people to live. He's a God who calls us to "do justly, love mercy and walk humbly". He asks us to serve orphans and widows. He commands us to love our neighbors as we would love ourselves. He asks us to worship Him with our lives. When my purpose seems fuzzy- going back to this God clears up the fog a little.
If I do justly, love mercy and walk humbly- I'm looking for opportunities to learn more about injustice, taking action to advocate for justice and pursue a life that is absolutely not about me being in the limelight. I'm serving, I'm asking "who has God put in front of me to love today?" If I know who He is - then other elements of the question become clearer.
Since I can remember, I've always hated the question "What's your 5-year plan?". To me, that question, though well-intentioned, cheapens the reality of life- that it changes and shapes us to be very different people. My calling during this particular season of my life will possibly look radically different in a matter of a year. But my life calling- to serve God as His daughter - is one that remains constant only because God is constant. And the incredible piece of this is that the seasonal calling is always linked to the life calling. Regardless of what I'm doing- I am always called to be His daughter and love others on His behalf. The seasonal "callings" come and go with life - and that process can be so challenging, but as a Christian, you are never without purpose and identity- which gives us the safety to explore what it is we want to be doing in this life season.

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