A Working Paper

"Once on the spiritual path, how do we discern our unique sacred call?"

Lerita Coleman Brown in What Makes You Come Alive: A Spiritual Walk with Howard Thurman

In her book which walks us through the extraordinary life of Howard Thurman, Lerita Brown shares what Thurman suggested was a necessary statement we should all have which describes our sense of God's purpose in our lives and the daily practices we must engage in to live that purpose out. prefacing her definition of a working paper, Brown warns that if we do not have our own working paper, we risk the danger of following one we have just borrowed from someone...not being true to ourselves and to the Spirit within us.

To hear and answer our unique sacred call, our working paper should answer questions like:

What are you trying to do?

What does it mean to commit your life?

What does live mean to you?

According to Brown, a working paper will bring a certain clarity to our lives, "otherwise we act like unleashed office space available for rent to the highest bidder!" Some specific questions we might ask ourselves if we want to establish our own working papers would be

What is your understanding of your sacred call, and how do you live it out daily?

How might it be linked to what makes you come alive?

A final note Brown offers about a working paper is that it is "subject to revision and refinement as dictated by the Spirit of God and the daily life lessons." Revision and refinement require vigilance of discernment, listening and being honest with what works and what doesn't work. It might necessitate a spiritual companion with whom you can share your innermost thoughts and feelings, movements of the Holy Spirit and ponderings.

We are all called by God in some way. Becoming conscious of that call and aware of the Spirit within can strengthen our commitment to God and give us clarity of purpose and direction. As Frederick Buechner said so many years ago,

"The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet".

Perhaps creating our own working paper this Lent will be a good discipline for uncovering God's love within us and allowing it to radiate through us and out into the world.