Frederick Buechner is well known for many of his quotes. Perhaps you’ve heard this one but didn’t know where it came from. It relates well to my posts of the last few days on LIFE.

“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

I don’t think I have thought about my nursing career in this way. I simply know that the career choices in my home when I was growing up in the 1950s were to be a teacher or a nurse. I became a nurse because I didn’t like grading papers with my teacher mother, and I liked the cap my nurse sister wore. Not very thoughtful or thought out reasons.

Then as I said in Caring Lessons, I ended up as both a teacher and a nurse and loving it.

Looking back, I think I can see that Buechner’s quote could fit. Even without parental expectation, I know for sure that having a 40-year nursing career did bring me “deep gladness.” Even when I entertained changing careers, I could never come up with anything that appealed. As far as the “world’s deep hunger,” that feels like a bit of hyperbole, but it’s also clear that the world needs nurses!

Think about how you are living or have lived most of your life. I may be oversimplifying here, but even if you’re not aware of a distinct call from God to your chosen way of life, can you see that the place where you are happiest also meets a broader need?

Another Buechner quote to cheer your day: