I was deep in the middle of a dream when I heard my phone go
off. With eyes still shut my hand searched haphazardly around my nightstand
with a firm determination to find the despised device, turn off the alarm, and
slip instantly back into a peaceful slumber. Such had always been my morning
ritual… as well as the reason as to why I was late to work on almost a daily
basis. But today, I suddenly realized, was not just any day. Today was a
holiday and, considering there was no reason to wake up, I quickly concluded
that there was no reason to have set my alarm. Confused, I opened my left eye
just enough to see a bright cell phone screen displaying a ten-digit number
that was completely unfamiliar to me. Who in their right mind would call me on
a holiday, first thing in the morning? I pushed the “ignore” button, pulled the
covers up over my head, and instantly resumed sleeping. I figured if it really
was important, the caller could always leave a message.
And that is precisely what the caller did. Not even two
minutes after I had resumed sleeping, my phone made yet another alarming noise,
signaling that I had received a voicemail. With eyes still determined to stay
shut, I grudgingly fumbled with the buttons in an attempt to retrieve the
message. A nice lady voice told me I had one new voicemail. “Hi Rachel. This is your sister Jen…” My eyes
flew open. This was no wrong number. But Jen was in the MTC… she wasn’t
supposed to be using the phone. “Just here at the airport getting ready to
leave for Belgium.” Synapses started firing. Today was the day my sister would
be flying to Europe to serve a mission for the next year and a half. “I just
wanted to call and talk with you, but apparently you are busy.” No I’m not! I’m
awake! Call me back! Then were the last words I was to hear from my sister
until our Christmas phone call several months later: “I miss and love you Rach.
Bye.”
My heart dropped. I frantically called back the random
number hoping she would still be there, but of course it just rang and rang. My
sister had called to talk for the last time for several months, and I had
missed it. I was devastated as it sunk in that I had lost an opportunity I
could never get back. All because, in a split second, I had chosen to not
answer the call.
In the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord revealed that He has
previously “called” many of us (D&C 121:40). We know the Lord does not use
a cell phone to place His calls. His methods are much more reliable and clear
as He works through the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Pretend for a moment that when you picked up your cell phone it said
“God” was on the other end. You would be crazy not to answer it. What an
opportunity it would be to hear His voice, to know what He wanted you to do, to
know for sure that He loved you. If God called, it would be a call I would not
want to miss.
But if we focus only on our own ordinary methods of
communication and sit around waiting for God to call our little cellular device,
we will fail to realize that each of us already has a miraculous and extraordinary opportunity to hear His
voice, to know His will from moment to moment, and to be assured of His perfect
love for us- no technology required. God calls us all the time. The question is
how often do we answer?
For some of us, it may not be often enough. In Isaiah chapter
65, the Lord sadly says to the children of Israel, “When I called, ye did not
answer” (vs. 12). Just as my sister had wanted more than anything in that
moment to hear from someone she loved, God too longs to have His children
answer when He calls.
We should not be surprised when some of God’s conversations
with us result in Him asking us to do something. There are mission calls, church callings,
and many opportunities each day in which we are called to serve Him. In the Bible Dictionary it says, “To be called
of God is to receive an invitation from Him to serve.” In Matthew 4, Jesus
noticed a family of busy fishermen mending their nets. In this ordinary moment
in their lives, they received a call from an extraordinary man as He asked them
to come follow Him (vs. 21). Without delay, they answered His call, and left
their work to do His. Calls come to us on a daily basis to do the same. Are we
prepared to receive such a call?
When I reflect on the missed phone call from my sister, I
often wonder why I didn’t just answer. It would have been a simple thing to do. It
would have saved me loads of heartache and regret and allowed me a cherished
conversation with someone I loved and missed. The answer for my failure to respond
is simply this: I was tired and did not recognize the number. I was able to
rationalize that answering the phone was unnecessary and that if the call were
indeed important, I could take care of it later.
How many times do we perhaps miss calls from the Savior
because we are asleep to spiritual things, or because we have not fully learned
to recognize the way in which He calls to us? Do we mistakenly convince ourselves that we
can just call Him back at a time that is more convenient for us?
I wonder how many calls I may have already missed. What
might have happened had I had the courage to talk with the man sitting next to
me on the airplane, to sit next to the woman sitting alone in Relief Society,
to walk across the street to talk with a non-member neighbor watering their
lawn? What friendships might I have developed had I listened when the Spirit
beckoned me to really be a Visiting Teacher, and not just do my visiting teaching? What great things may have happened had I
been willing to do the small and simple things God had asked of me during times
when, unfortunately, I was spiritually asleep and did not recognize Him
calling?
The good news is that we can use our agency to choose to “awake unto God” (Alma 5:7),
to “look steadfastly towards heaven” from whence God’s voice
comes (3 Nephi 11:5), and to “immediately” put down our own work so we
are available to do His (Matthew 4:22). If
we are consistent, God will know that He can call us at any time and trust us
to complete whatever is required for the building up of His Kingdom.
But why does God need us? If God can do everything, and
surely He can, why would He need the help of an insufficient mortal to bring to
pass His great work? For the beggar in need of money, He could simply turn a
stone into gold coins. For the lonely, single mother in need of a visit, He
could send one of His most sensitive angels. For those who are lost because
they know not where to find the truths of the Gospel, He could align the stars
to form the message: “Ask the missionaries. They can help you!” (Elder Russell
M. Nelson, Oct. 2012 General Conference). But it is a very rare occasion when
God works miracles in this way, choosing instead to use you and me to do His
work. It is simply because God is smart. His wisdom suggests, “Why bless only
one in need when you can bless two?” When God calls us to assist with His work,
He is calling us to grow and to become as He is. He is blessing us with the
change of heart that comes from losing ourselves in the service of others. What
a blessing it is to be an instrument in such a grand orchestra with a
universe-renowned conductor. What a tremendous work in which God has called us to
participate.
I will never forget the feelings of gratitude and relief I had
when I immediately responded to a call from God when I was 23. At the time, I
was working as a therapist with teenage girls who had very serious emotional problems.
I worked an average of 60 hours a week and felt completely in over my head with
drama, hormones, and a developing feeling of association with fresh meat at a
meat market. I had just finished a challenging therapy session with a client,
when I had a distinct impression that I needed to check on someone. Luckily
that day, I was spiritually awake and immediately recognized this as a call to
run an errand for the Lord, so I hurried to find the whereabouts of this
client. After some searching, I found this beautiful, but overwhelmed young
woman curled up on the floor in a bathroom stall. Tears streamed down her face
as she told me she had been
contemplating harming herself as a way to get rid of her intense
emotional pain. Because I had answered God’s call, I was there to help keep one
of His precious daughters safe that day. I do not like to think about what may
have happened had I not been listening or had I convinced myself that the call
was unimportant.
In this situation, the call was urgent. Luckily God knew I
was listening and that I was ready to respond without delay. A couple of years
earlier in my life, however, God had known that I was not ready to receive a
certain call, but nonetheless was merciful enough to call me early. The Church
had just produced a special issue of the Ensign that was focused entirely on
the Savior. I felt a prompting that I needed to send an extra copy to my
cousin, Tom. But I rationalized and I put it off, worried that he might think I
was being “preachy” and just trying to push the Church on him. It took two
months of calls before I finally decided to listen. I put the Ensign in a large
envelope with a card explaining how I hoped a knowledge of the Savior would
bring him joy as it had done for me. Only a couple of days after he received it
in the mail, one of his best friends passed away. He told me later how perfectly
timed my gift was. But I knew it wasn’t me. It was just the Lord working
through me to help another one of His children. I was grateful God had prepared
me early, but I learned then that it is better to just answer when God calls.
There are great blessings promised to those who answer when
God calls: “Then shalt thou call, and
the Lord shall answer” (Isaiah 58:9). In this life, God answers the prayers of
those who answer His call to serve. But even more importantly than this, if we
continue to endure life well, those of us who have consistently heeded God’s
call will be called one last time to join Him at the “marriage supper of the
Lamb.” John the Revelator said of these, “Blessed are they” (Revelation 19:9).
Blessed are they who are spiritually awake, who recognize His voice, and who answer
when He calls.
