Session 6. Called through Each Other
Reading: Chapter Six in The Stories We Live
Resource: Calling Journal

Opening Prayer

We have a call,
To be loved,
and to love,
To be shown mercy,
and to show mercy,
To be forgiven,
and to forgive,
To receive hope,
and to offer hope ,
To know joy,
and share joy,
To feel peace,
and bring peace,
To be made whole,
and offer wholeness.
We have a call,
Listen...
Listen...
Do you hear?

Faith & Worship: http://www.faithandworship.com/Prayers_Encounters_with_Gods_people.htm#ixzz5QbVMPqpi 
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​Part 1. Introducing Called through Each Other

God works through others to call us. Who has God worked through to call you? 
 
Most people say that they first experience a sense of calling through another person. Family, friends, or mentors highly influence a person’s choice in work. The discernment of your gifts and capacities for service begins when others around you notice and call them forth. 
 
We are utterly dependent on each other to become who we are, to hear God’s callings, and to respond. People closest to you are the most significant factors in the calls you follow and the choices you make. If you are struggling to figure out what God is calling you toor for, listen to God’s call throughthe people around you. 
 
Who comes into a person’s life may be the single greatest factor of influence to what that life becomes. You are God’s agent of vocation. If your call is to be for others, then you must become a person through whom God’s call is heard and heeded. 
​
​(From: The Stories We Live: Finding God's calling All Around Us. Kathleen Cahalan. Eerdmans, 2017.)

​Part 2. Exploring a Sense of Calling through Others ​

Recall the “Chapters of Life” activity in Session 3 and reflect on who was instrumental in your life during each chapter. Use the following questions to reflect on your journey and the people who have been important in your life. Write your responses in your Calling Journal. 

• Who has been instrumental in each chapter of your life to help you discover God’s calling for you? Who has been an agent of God’s vocation for you? Identify the person(s) in each chapter of your life. (Think about family members, friends, colleagues, supervisors, the people we serve, and mentors.)
• What did the people in your life do for and with you to help you discover God’s vocation?
• What is instrumental in your life right now? Who is currently an agent of God’s vocation for you? What are they doing for and with you to help you discover God’s vocation at this stage of your life? 

 
Reflect one or two people who were instrumental in your life, and what they did they mattered so much to you. 

​Part 3. Reflecting on Being an Agent of God’s Calling for Others ​

Who comes into your life may be the single greatest factor of influence to what your life becomes. Each of us are God’s agent of vocation. If our call is to be for others, then we must become a person through whom God’s call is heard and heeded. 
 
Identify people that you have been influential in helping to discover God’s calling. Write your responses to the two questions below in your Calling Journal. 

• For whom have you been an agent of God’s vocation? What did you do for and with these individuals? What was the experience life for you? 
• How might others be called by God through you today? 

 
Recall one example or story of a person you have influenced. Write about how you influenced this person.

Conclude by thinking about the following question “How might others be called by God through you today?”

Closing Prayer 

Reveal yourself
dear Lord, this day 
in the special places
where we can be alone.
Reveal yourself
in the busy places
where noise is all around.
Reveal yourself
in the smiling faces
of friends and family
Reveal yourself
in the sullen faces
of people passing by.
Reveal yourself
dear Lord, this day
and by your grace
bless this beautiful
but fragile world with joy.

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