Today I will be sharing some insights I gleaned from a podcast that I really love to listen to, “God-centered Mom“. Creator/hostess, Heather, has SO. MUCH. great content on there; if you’re a podcast listener, or if you want to start listening to podcasts, this is a great one to get some really awesome encouragement for your heart in the realm of all things mommy. She has so many fantastic guests on the show and she covers all sorts of topics. Personally, I love to listen to her podcast when I’m washing dishes at night… the last thing I want to be doing at 9:00pm… this is often exactly when I need to hear an inspiring word spoken straight to my heart. =]

Recently she had, Kat Armstrong on the show who was speaking to the question, “What’s my calling?”, and I will be relying heavily on the thoughts she and Heather shared in this episode (#171). So often we want God to just tell us what our calling is… what did he put us here and now for? Is it being a stay-at-home mom? Is it being a working mom? Is one right? Is one wrong? We can make ourselves absolutely crazy with these questions.

In fact, none of those questions matter because we all have the same calling: Love God, live in a way that pleases him and serve him with all of your heart. (Deuteronomy 10:12 | Mark 12:30 + 31) Wherever we are and whatever we do we are to bring others into the wondrous, saving light of Jesus and into relationship with him. The real question you need to ask after “Am I loving God first and serving him?” is: “Is my family flourishing?”

If you’re a working mom and your family is doing well, then great! You’re doing just what you should be doing! If you’re a stay-at-home mom because you think that’s what you should be, but your family isn’t thriving [maybe there is constant tension between you and your kids or disciplinary issues that aren’t present when your child is in other settings] maybe you need to give working outside the home a try and see how it goes for the family. Or maybe you do work outside the home but your family is clearly suffering… maybe you need to put the job on hold for now.

Kat shares that the question isn’t, “What’s my calling?”, but rather, “What’s my assignment right now?” We all have the same general calling, but we are all given different assignments. And our assignment changes throughout our life. Right now, my assignment is to love & serve God and bring others to his saving grace while I am a full time mommy and a part time photographer. When my children get older and are in school, my assignment will likely look different.

God wants to use us where he has put us with what he has given us. Wherever it is that you find yourself (in which your family is flourishing)— know that you are in just the right place for God to use you, for right now. And also know that we need to expect our assignment to change; as with the different seasons our lives go through, so will our assignment change, develop and shift.