Calling

For the next few posts, I’d like you to meet some cool people doing cool things in God’s Kingdom. Karen, together with her husband John, is part of the Telkwa CRC family and is a phlebotomist (a.k.a. medial lab assistant) at the hospital in Smithers. Her work is definitely more than “just a job.”

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She’s spunky, chatty and full of giggles as she pulls her little four-year-old body up into the chair. I’m not really sure what she’s expecting at this little visit, but as I begin to do my job she becomes very quiet and still. I realize she’s never had a blood sample drawn before and I attempt to put her mind at ease. “It’s OK, sweetie. We’ll be done in no time. Your job is to just hold your arm really still. I promise it won’t hurt more than a little mosquito bite.” She’s a little reluctant but the promise of a sticker keeps her in the chair long enough for me to do my job.

I love my job!

My job at the local hospital allows me to come into contact with all kinds of people that I would not normally see or spend time with. My job helps me to see people differently. The recovering addict dying of AIDS despairs that his loved ones won’t listen to his pleads for them to stop using. I try to encourage him. The young man battling HIV shares how hurtful it is that his own mother doesn’t dare to touch him – how the social aspect of the disease is far worse than the disease itself. I rub his arm as he gets up to leave. The woman afraid to death of finding out whether or not she has cancer sobs on my chest as I wrap my arms around her. These are just a few of the complete strangers that I get to meet and have meaningful contact with.

My job is so much more than a job. It’s a calling.

I don’t doubt for a moment that I am meant to be where I am. I believe that God is using these people to enrich my life and that I am being used to enrich theirs.

We are fortunate to have a job, but we are oh so blessed when our job is more than just a job.
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