Dear Theresa:

Your calling implies an authority outside yourself that speaks to your purpose.  I can’t answer whether or not God has called you to this, but you are in it, and I am convinced that you can function in this role and that God can and will continue to equip you to travel this journey.  Caregivers often feel thrust into something that overwhelms them and we feel discouraged when we fail.  Just because you make mistakes along the journey doesn’t disqualify you from the caregiving task.  Loving another human being is the calling for each of us.  Sometimes that loving requires a level of care, commitment, and self-sacrifice that seems disproportionate to others.  As we do this, however, we soon learn that while we may not feel adequate or good about it, we learn that we can be better individuals as we do this.  Being better in it brings the benefit of loving deeper, appreciating beauty more profoundly, and walking calmer in storms and challenges.  Even if you don’t feel that it’s your specific calling, that’s a calling worthy of answering.