In my 20 months in Seattle I have had 12-17 vocational ideas.

I have wanted to start a church. Lead a preexisting church. Write a book. Work in HR. Work for the NBA. Produce TV shows. Consult non-profits. Consult churches. Start a sports bar. Write another book. Create a nationwide chain of sleepy stops. The list could go on…it really could. You don’t believe me? Fine. Manage a music venue. Create a network for redemption seeking artists. Define what a redemption seeking artist is. Write a book. Open a movie theater/bar. And then finally…become the primary owner of the Chicago Cubs (they are for sale).

Imagine that. Exactly 12-17.

"The place that God calls you to is the place where your deepest gladness and the world’s deepest hunger will meet.” - Frederick Buechner

That may not be a new quote to you. It has been a quote I have heard a number of times over the last 20 months and thus it is not longer new to me. If it is new to you…it probably hits you profoundly.

Today, thinking about Buechner’s words yet again, I was struck by how often we (Read: I. I just want to pretend like others are in it with me) struggle with both finding our gladness and examining the world’s hunger. Our distrust of our humanity has called us to question our passions and dreams, clouding our understanding of deep gladness. Our suburban neighborhoods and customized websites have filtered our image of the world and distorted the reality of the world’s hunger. We associate gladness with economic success or getting paid what we deserve. We have come to believe that poverty only exists over seas. We often struggle to know gladness. We often choose not to see the world’s hunger.

So before we can do the work of finding where these two intersect we must take time to acknowledge both individually.

Sounds fun, eh? Perhaps you can help me. Perhaps we can help each other.