Still Discerning My Vocation

Dear Friends,

When I wrote my meditation, I reflected on a journey that began when I was a boy in Montreal watching a fictional TV courtroom drama show called Perry Mason. I dreamed of becoming a criminal defense lawyer, and eventually that dream became a reality.

At the time, I was solely thinking about having a good career and helping people. Things have changed dramatically since then.

At seventy-two, I write devotionals and poetry and work as a spiritual life coach. Writing about Christian themes encourages me to listen, reflect, pray, and become more aware of God’s presence in my experiences.

Swimming has also become part of my spiritual journey. When I was very young, I nearly drowned. Today I am becoming a stronger and more confident swimmer, and I now aspire to learn to scuba dive. Something that once represented fear has become a source of faith, discipline, and hope. The words of Isaiah 43:2 have therefore acquired special meaning for me: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you” (NRSVUE). I cannot enter a swimming pool without bringing my history with me, but I also enter knowing that I do not journey through the waters alone.

I have been encouraged by British Olympic champion Adam Peaty, who has spoken openly about a difficult period in his life and about finding peace and a different perspective through church and Christian faith. I will never swim at Peaty’s level, but something in his story resonates with me. Swimming teaches me to breathe, trust, persevere, and keep moving forward. For someone who nearly drowned as a child, returning to the water has become, quite literally, a leap of faith.

Swimming has given me another unexpected joy. I enjoy watching parents and children swimming together. There is something beautiful about seeing a parent patiently encouraging a child in the water and witnessing the trust that develops between them. Their bonding reminds me that trust is also at the heart of our relationship with God.

My original meditation expressed my belief that God helps us recognize the right job, career, or vocation. I still believe that, but today I would make a distinction. Perhaps vocation and career are about discerning what we believe we are supposed to do. A calling, on the other hand, is about remaining open to whom God is continually calling us to become.

The boy who wanted to become Perry Mason became a lawyer. The lawyer became an advocate, writer, and spiritual life coach. And the child who nearly drowned is now swimming toward a dream of exploring beneath the water.

I am still discerning. I am still learning. And, by God’s grace, I am still moving forward.

Please join me in my continuing quest to discover God through swimming, devotional writing, and poetry. You can follow my swimming journey on Instagram at @swimfree2026 and find my devotionals and poetry at @awakenedbytheword.

Thank you, my fellow lovers of God, for sharing this journey with me.

Blessings,
Dwight Jenkins
Ontario, Canada