Autumn Hepler

SLA 400 45
November 4, 2022

My Vocational Essay

What is my vocation of pursuit? What is my purpose? This is still a question I ask myself
at the age of 37. As a person of deep faith, I often fear I will miss my calling or fear I will choose
the wrong path. The million dollar question I receive these days when others hear I am furthering
my education is, “What do you want to do when you graduate?” The truthful answer is, I do not
know. I wish I could sit here and say I know exactly which path I want to take. I have watched
my mother work as a hospice nurse for years and have seen how her profession is without a
doubt her vocation in life. I have also watched as my mother has struggled to lose that identity as
she was forced into early retirement from an injury and feel lost without it. As life presents itself
to us in different forms at different stages in our lives, I have come to a conclusion.

I have always been one to observe others in life. I love to watch how people interact. I
love to watch the dynamic of relationships and see how people respond to change. I have
watched people of faith and those who have chosen a different path. It would be easy to say that
having a vocation of being a pastor, teacher, nurse, therapist, etc is a direct call from God and
that is what they were created to do. As someone who has worked for the same company for 17
years in a manufacturing setting, I have questioned where that puts me. Over the last two years,
my relationship with God has grown exponentially. As I reflected in preparation for this essay,
my vision started to come together like pieces of a puzzle. My vocation is what I choose to do
with my time on this earth.

Surprised by my answer? Let me explain. I want to always be the best representation of

Christ in the flesh to everyone around me at any point in my life. My vocation is to give, to love,
and to provide hope. And I can sit here and say this with humility and sincerity because it is not
I, but He who works through me. By choosing to help my neighbor who asks for a ride when I
am barely out of my car after a long day of work, agreeing to help with eight weeks of vacation
bible school crafts, helping a friend move, donating furniture to the new neighbor across the
street who is fighting to get back on his feet, making time to sit on the porch and listen to the
neighbor kids who stop by and want to chat, volunteer to help with all of the charitable activities
at my workplace, or spend months of planning in preparation for a camp for children on
ventilators, I give because they all matter. My vocation is not specific to one area of my life nor
one stage in my life. My vocation is my life.

In today’s day and age, we find ourselves living in a world that appears to be more vocal
than ever and full of self-identities. In Laborem Exercens, Pope John Paul II says something that
really embodies the current status of work here in the United States. “This circumstance
constitutes in itself the most eloquent "Gospel of work", showing that the basis for determining
the value of human work is not primarily the kind of work being done but the fact that the one
who is doing it is a person” (Paul, Laborem exercens (14 September 1981): John Paul II 1981).
The United States in particular is a raging fight to be heard and be recognized as a person
through their work. Gone is the day when people were satisfied by their titles of “Stay at home
mom”, “Accountant”, “Engineer”, etc. Gone are the days when people are ranked based on their
wages. Today people want to be recognized for who they are, not just what they do. People long
to be seen as an individual yet work to build communities of like-mindedness to create change in
the world.

In Catholic Social Teaching: John Paul II, Laborem Exercens, there were two statements
that really stood out to me. The first was, “One can see that in the question of wages, for
example, if we look only at the type of work being done or its place in the national economic
structure, we might conclude that certain work is worth very little. But if, on the other hand, we
look at who is doing the work, free persons made in the image of God, then we would have to
grant them what is their due because of their humanity, namely, the ability to live in human
dignity, regardless of the low social status of their objective work” (Storck, Catholic social
teaching: John Paul II, Laborem Exercens 1998). I love this statement because it shifts the value
from the work to the person which is exactly what we are striving for as human beings. I do not
believe this shift is meant to be prideful, but rather hope to feel acknowledged for who we are
not just what we can do. The other statement in the reading that hit home for me was, “Whatever
your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord and not men, knowing that from the Lord you will
receive the inheritance as your reward” (Storck, Catholic social teaching: John Paul II, Laborem
Exercens 1998). This statement really shines light on where my heart resides. There have been so
many “jobs” I have had to do that I really did not want to do or I did not feel qualified and I
would ask God for supernatural wisdom and would remind myself that I ultimately work for God
and not for man.

Even though it seems like we live in a world where people have more freedom, I see a
world stuck in bondage and desperate for hope. My vocation is far from traditional. I want to
exemplify Jesus in all that I do and if you read the Gospels, Jesus was far from traditional. He
came to break away from the law to show a path of love and hope. That is what I aim to do.
Regardless of my job title, you will find me helping anyone from the CEO of the company to the
janitor treating both with the same kindness and respect. I give of my time to help anyone from
the church to a neighbor who served time in prison. I treat everyone regardless of their sexual
orientation or race with the same respect. It is my responsibility to view everyone through the
lens of God despite their backgrounds, job title, or history. As a co-worker, volunteer, friend, or
family member I strive to build a community that helps people see value in themselves as an
individual. When I continue to act from a place of faith, I receive great honor to do the works of
the Lord which in the end is the ultimate payment.

John Lewis provided so many statements in his interview and throughout his last words
that embody solidarity and social justice. His words were spoken with such grace and love.
Collectively we all could learn from this man who lived through such pivotal moments in
history. Lewis quoted Martin Luther King, Jr. in his last words stating, “each of us has a moral
obligation to stand up, speak up and speak out. When you see something that is not right, you
must say something. You must do something. Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each
generation must do its part to help build what we called the Beloved Community, a nation and
world society at peace with itself” (msnbcleanforward, Morgan Freeman Reads Rep. John
Lewis’ Last Words | The Last Word | MSNBC 2020). While we are a generation that speaks up
and speaks out, we are fighting against each other more than joining in solidarity. We spew hate
and peaceful protests turn into violence.

In John Lewis’ interview with Krista Tippett he said, “we need to find a way to get in the
way, but it should be in a peaceful, loving, non-violent fashion. Hate is too heavy a burden to
bear” (Tippett, Love in Action 2013) We will never see progress if we are representing hate. The
choices that I am making in my life, my vocation, are some that I hope can bridge the gap that
the church has caused between people and God. Coming from a background of the church, I
know that even those with a religious spirit can spew hate and that is not how it is supposed to
be. Some individuals cannot separate sin from the person which have left souls wounded and
lost. I work to follow Jesus and act accordingly as His church which means walking alongside
those who the world hates or the church shuns. To be more specific, I have many friends who are
gay. I personally do not agree with the lifestyle, but I love them as a person. A lot of people in
the church would not agree with this. I want to surround myself with the tax collectors and
Pharisees to represent God’s light. As Mother Teresa said, “I never look at the masses as my
responsibility; I look at the individual. I can only love one person at a time – just one, one, one.
So you begin. I began – I picked up one person. Maybe if I didn’t pick up that one person, I
wouldn’t have picked up forty-two thousand….The same thing goes for you, the same thing in
your family, the same thing in your church, your community. Just begin – one, one, one” (Krass,
Mother Teresa quotes which Will change your life 2020).  Every person’s life matters. Every
person was made in the image of God. Even in the darkest of times I pray that God will help me
to see the person through His eyes. Lewis stated, “bring human beings together and create a
sense of community. Create a sense of family. The love is already there. How do you paint the
picture?” (Tippett, Love in Action 2013). How do I paint that picture? By representing God’s
love through words and actions to all who cross my path.

In the case of the Amazon OP-ED, we are provided the opportunity to see an example of
a real corporate struggle in today’s world. The employees represented solidarity by coming
together and “marking the first successful U.S. organizing effort in the company’s history”
(Duff, Op-ed: Amazon Workers scored a huge union victory but face A tough road ahead 2022).
When faced with challenges of essentially bullying and potential job loss, these employees came
together in a non-violent fashion to make a change for the better. Individually we are all so
important and we all play a role to make a difference collectively. I can imagine that not every
single employee had the exact same view and thoughts on the situation, yet they still came
together for what they believed was the best path for them moving forward. I believe this is
something we all can do. As society, we all come from different places and we all have different
visions of what our future looks like, but we can still work together for the betterment of
mankind.

Life is truly a journey. As we grow and learn through our experiences, we can choose to
become stronger, or we can allow things to break us. Throughout most of my life I may not have
realized that my call to help others was my vocation or even a reflection of God. I would
volunteer for charities or lend a helping hand because it is what made me feel alive and it was a
spark inside of me that felt right. I was blessed to have a mother who raised my sister and I to
serve and help those in need. I was able to watch that over the course of my childhood through
her and then experience it for myself as I got old enough to help as well. I think it is important to
have moments of self-reflection like we are having through this essay because it helps us to see
how our path has shaped us for today. I remember listening to a minister who told a story about a
tent. This minister said he had been waiting for calls to evangelize, but he was not receiving any.
He said he heard God tell him he needed to buy a tent for his ministry. He went out and bought a
tent and suddenly, the calls started pouring in saying things like, I heard you have a tent. Will
you come speak to my congregation? He said call after call would come in saying the same thing
where they all heard he had a tent. He said his schedule flooded with events where he would go
evangelize to the people, yet he never once used his tent. He said he believed God used the tent
to open the door for him to speak to people and because of his obedience to buy the tent, it
provided the conversation needed to open all those doors. I believe that my degree is going to be
my tent. That piece of paper will open doors to get me to where I need to be to help those who
God has for me. Our vocation does not have to be specific to one area in our lives. It does not
have to be a profession that is a 9-5 job. What greater gift than to lay down our lives for those
around us. As my life progresses, my platform may shift on how I can use my vocation, but I will
always be able to help others regardless of what that looks like.

References
Duff, M. C. (2022, April 8). Op-ed: Amazon Workers scored a huge union victory but face A
tough road ahead. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-04-08/amazon-union-elections-labor-
movement

Krass, J. (2020, May 10). Mother Teresa quotes which Will change your life. Inspiring Alley.
Retrieved November 4, 2022, from https://www.inspiringalley.com/mother-teresa-quotes/

Paul, J. (1981, September 14). Laborem exercens (14 September 1981): John Paul II. Laborem
Exercens (14 September 1981) | John Paul II. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from
https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-
ii_enc_14091981_laborem-exercens.html

Storck, T. (1998). Catholic social teaching: John Paul II, Laborem Exercens. Catholic Education
Resource Center. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from
https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/catholic-contributions/catholic-social-
teaching-john-paul-ii-laborem-exercens.html

Tippett, K. (2013, March 28). Love in Action. other. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from
https://onbeing.org/programs/john-lewis-love-in-action/#audio.

YouTube. (2020). Morgan Freeman Reads Rep. John Lewis’ Last Words | The Last Word |
Msnbc. YouTube. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=_i2DSkAys-8.