How I Got Where I am Today: Finding Your Vocation

Thanks to my friend Eva for this image

I was browsing Twitter last week when a tweet from Donna at 'What the Redhead Said' caught my eye. She was responding to a tweet from a random American guy who said it was depressing that our society had failed to provide ambitious role models for our children and then he shared a graphic (which is pretty hilarious when you look at it closely) that apparently shows the top 10 jobs that kids want nowadays.

Put aside the fact that this guy had obviously made the graphic up, or at the very least not checked his sources very well as the jobs add up to nearly 137%, there are very random spelling mistakes and careers like teacher/ athlete are bundled together, what was interesting, was the backlash it had stirred in people, with him receiving over 7.000 responses, including Donna's.

It set me thinking about the job I do nowadays and how I came to this place. If you'd asked 17-year-old Michelle what she would be when she was grown up, it certainly wouldn't be a self-employed stay-at-home mum. The teen Michelle would have told you she was going to be a big success, running an empire, probably a hotel empire and that she wasn't ever going to have kids.  

I disagree. It shows the future and how anyone can carve a career for themselves nowadays.

I left school with no qualifications & am now a self employed blogger earning more than I did as a bank manager AND able to do school runs with the kids.

Even bloggers have ambition. https://t.co/1eduxg23Sp

— Donna Wishart - What the Redhead said (@genuineplacebo) March 22, 2021

What does the Future Hold? Going back to my Catering Roots?

Photo by Allie Smith on Unsplash

As I turn 46, I find myself thinking about my life and what has passed. What I'm doing now and what the future might hold. I've recently taken on a new part-time job and I'm very much enjoying doing that for two days a week, along with my freelance work, for another two days a week. These commitments still give me time to volunteer, shop, exercise and be available for the kids too.

I've definitely got a good balance right now and being in a Christian environment is the right thing for me at the moment, but I do have those times when I pass the seafront hotels in Eastbourne and I wonder if the future might take me back to my hotel and catering roots. At age 14 I decided that I wanted to be a hotel manager, I'd been inspired by my Grandad who was a chef in the navy and then worked as a chef and catering manager in many local places. 

From the minute I left school I was training for my future, I went to college and trained to be a hotel manager, and I took my chefing qualifications as well. I then went to Uni and did a Hospitality degree, knowing I'd be a hotel manager when I left, and I was. I had a couple of years with Friendly Hotels as a Trainee Manager, learning the trade from the bottom up, adding to my work experience that started when I was 13 years old.

What’s for the best? Only God knows the answer…

Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Colossians 3:23 (NLT)

September – the kids go back to school and routine is resumed but this year it’s a time of change, I can feel it. Not for the whole family, I’m not foreseeing any big moves or shifts in our lives but just time for me to find a way to make the most of my skills. We’ve been in East Sussex for just over three years now and whilst I’m very settled here and quite content to stay for as long as the Lord calls us I’m also yearning for something else, to use my talents more fully, for some fulfilment. To work for God.

 I’m continuing my voluntary work with the Hastings food bank as I enjoy that and I know it makes a difference to many lives but to be honest I’d stop if I felt there was a more permanent job I should be doing. I’m also starting a new voluntary role with the education charity TLG (transforming lives for good) followand that means I’ll give an hour a week for the next academic year to a little boy to ensure he feels nurtured and cared for at school. This is a definite, so I won’t be changing that as you can’t make a commitment to a vulnerable child and then back out,

 For the last few years I’ve been volunteering in the Welcome Team and managing the Facebook page of the Christian Conference centre, where I live. It has been an absolute privilege to serve alongside the committed team at Ashburnham Place and I’ve enjoyed every moment of it but there doesn’t appear to be any kind of paid or ongoing role for me there and I need to find an ongoing role. My heart is yearning for stability, challenge and the satisfaction of a full day’s work. I’ll still give time to Ash (as I fondly call it) and I can’t help but to be part of the community loving and nurturing all our young volunteers that come to live with us for 3-12 months but I won’t be such a regular sight in the office.

 One thing I know for sure is that I don’t want to go back to full-time permanent work outside of the home. My kids all tell me they adore me being home (even if some of their reasoning is a bit skewed – who would do the cleaning if you weren’t here Mum?) and I like the freedom to be able to pick them up, take them to the lake swimming or help with their homework but I’m definitely open to a part-time job. One that will allow me to be around most of the time.

 I’m considering temp work, or something like admin or reception is a local business. Without sounding boastful I have so many organisational skills I could offer to a small business. I don’t need a fancy title, or tons of money. I just want to help, enjoy my work and know that I am making a difference. It’s not easy to find the right role though as many a mother wants work a few days a week around school hours.

 I’ve seen a couple of jobs that are home-based and I could easily do them and enjoy them but then I wonder do I really want to work 15 hours a week for £150 when I could do one or two sponsored blog posts in a few hours and earn the same? But truthfully I’m not even sure why I’m worrying about the money as that is just a nice sideline of working. One that could perhaps pay for the abroad holiday next year that we now all desire, having been to Spain this year.

 Would working in my own home give me that same sense of achievement and connection that I feel when I work outside of the home? I’m really not sure it would. I like the interaction of having people around me and bouncing ideas off them. There have been too many times when the Internet has felt like a very lonely place and it is full of comparison and you have to be pretty self-confident to be able to ride out the storm sometimes.

 So when the kids go back to school on Wednesday I’m going to take a few hours in the prayer centre to pray and seek the Lord to see what He wants for me. I am after all, just a servant but please God I pray, show me the way. Help me to see what steps I should be taking this year. Where do you want me to serve?

 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)