A Visit to an Orphanage: A Life-Changing Experience - Essay Sample

Introduction

At the age of eleven, my parents and I went to visit an orphanage. My parents were interested in adopting a child, so we went to meet the administrator. I felt terrible for the children at the orphanage because even though they did not seem sad, I knew they had times in their lives when they wondered why they did not have parents and homes like other children. I felt sorry for them that I even tried to convince my parents to adopt three or four of them so that we could give them what they desired. Since then, I have always found the need of helping the needy and the less fortunate in the society. That was my calling.

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My Calling

Although I had discovered my calling, I did not realize it until when I was twenty two years old. A calling is defined as something one does from day to day that makes a difference and builds meaning for them, something they can look back in their later years and see the positive change that they brought to the world (Hall, and Dawn, 158). Knowing your calling can be hard and one has to reflect on their spiritual and personal life to understand what God intends them to do to make a change in the world. For example, to know your calling, one has to pay attention to things that happen to in their lives, the people they meet, how they interact, and the places they get drawn to, etc. In my case, meeting and interacting with those children. It is because the subconscious has a way of letting one know if he gets headed in the right direction. A calling is things that someone loved to do probably in the past at a young age. You have to look back at your life and ask yourself what you enjoyed doing as a child. You may come across something that you often that is your calling.

Evolution of My Calling

As time passed by, I found myself wanting to do more than play with the orphans. At eighteen years, I started looking for ways to improve the lives of the children who lived in poverty. Through the church, I got more access, knowledge, and information about the children and found other people with similar interests I had. Together we sort ways to help more children. We found homes for the children where they would be comfortable. We started advocating for adoption so that people who would not bear their children would take in these orphans and by doing so bring happiness to themselves and the orphans. I realized that you do not have to have lots of money, power or influence to bring change to the world. The phrase "let your life speak" gave me the encouragement I needed, as I clearly understood its meaning. I understood it as "let the greatest values guide you." I started to see the need for living a life of higher purpose.

Four years later, my younger sister and I have brought smiles to children orphaned at young ages. We started a non-governmental organization that has seen sponsors from all lifestyles come to support our mission. I have found great joy and accomplishment in what I do, and I have never felt the need to work anywhere else. I see my course in sociology helpful in dealing with some of the children. We created a home for the children where we provide everything necessary for a child's development. I can firmly say that the children in the house are happy and comfortable. With the help of the sponsors, we can take them to good schools where they learn, play and interact with other children. We have given them the best resources we can provide, and we ensure that they feel at home so that they do not feel the need to belong to a family. We have made them view themselves as one big family. Our goal is to open homes all over the world especially in the third world countries where poverty strikes hardest. Seeing these children grow to be leaders and influencers in the world will bring much joy to us. We believe that giving love and care to these children is what God intended us to do.

An Experience That Made Me Realize My Calling

When I was six, I had a best friend called Sylvia. Sylvia and I were neighbors, we went to the same school, and we got brought up together. We had been neighbors since I could remember. We would always play together and have sleepovers either at her home or our home. Since I had no siblings, she was like my sister. One day while on their way from Christmas holidays, they got involved in a road accident. The vehicle they were traveling in hit head-on by an oncoming truck. Her mother died on the spot. Sylvia and her father were rushed to the hospital though Sylvia had only minor injuries. Two weeks later, her father passed on. It was a hard time for me although I was not old enough to understand what was happening. What made it even harder was Sylvia being taken by child services since she had no one left to raise her. I was moved to wonder what would happen to her and where she got taken.

Later, my parents helped me understand why it was necessary for children services to take her. I came to terms with God's wish although it was not easy. When we went to the orphanage to seek adoption of my sister, it hit me that Sylvia was in the same situation as those children. I missed her, but at that time I would not do anything to help or see her again. I wished I would help her but time had passed me by. I vowed that if I had the chance to help her still, I would do anything within my power to help her. I have not found Sylvia yet but helping other children like her makes me feel at ease and fulfilled. I know that she is doing great with her life and I am confident that she would be happy to know that her predicament led me to do good for others like her.

My Work's Spiritual Experience

My work is a religious experience as I interact with people from different backgrounds all the time. These people offer me the opportunity to incorporate my spiritual practice. The children I work around have given me the opportunity to practice compassion, love, and generosity. Being there for the children gives me a fulfillment caring is part of my job description, and this is a part of my spiritual journey. Working with churches to help the orphans has helped me along the way. I have met people who guide me and show me the way when I trip out of the right path. I have to be an excellent example to the children we are bringing up. I have to show them how to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and live their lives with integrity. I have had a hard time with some of them, but it takes patience and understanding. Some still question God's decision to make their parents, and we have to teach them to accept God's will and learn that everything happens for a reason.

Work according to the bible is the day-to-day activities that people do that to either help others, be rewarded or achieve fulfillment from. People sometimes confuse work with a job. Work is the number of good deeds that one produces in their lifetime while a job is what one is being paid to do and a way to earn their living. Work can be voluntary or be an obligation. Someone who works must gain something in return for example money, gifts or fulfillment that comes from working. In the Bible, we see how different people worked every day and the positive effects their work had on the communities around them. God, for example, is the first primary worker. Genesis says that God worked for six days and rested in the seventh. The work referred to here is the creation of the universe. God was the first to work since we all know that God is good, working is also proper. Just as God created the world in six days, on the Sabbath he rested, Christians must also work. God instructed us to work for six days and rest on Sabbath. You cannot relax if you have not worked. Laziness is a character that is discouraged in the bible. God was impressed by his work, and this should teach us to do our best at our work so that we can also be happy with the outcomes. When we do well at work, the reward gets honored the satisfaction of doing well.

When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, God's punishment was that man had to toil so that he could eat. It means that working is crucial for survival. To stay alive one needs food, God placed Adam and Eve in a land that had all the food they needed, but after the sin, God made it man work for food. To eat, one has to go to the fields to produce his food from the first step. God made sure that they would not find food easily as they did in the like in the Garden of Eden.

I love my job. If I had a chance to change what I do, I would not change a thing. I have learned that when you do well with others, it will always come back to you one way or another. I do not expect any payment for the work I do, but I have not lacked any necessity. I have learned a lot from the people I interact with every day. They have taught me how to love to care and be humble. I look forward to opening more homes to assist the children in need. Kindness does not cost you anything. The volunteers meetings challenge us to strive to do better and do more not only for the children but also for society as well. Someone once said, "There are enough bad people in the world, being a good person can change the world." I have learned that to change the world you have to start with yourself. Doing one good deed, a day can make the world a better place. Helping children acquire good education will make them better people in the world. The only thing you can help with is to give them a small push in the right direction.

Work Cited

Hall, Douglas T., and Dawn E. Chandler. "Psychological success: When the career is a calling." Journal of Organizational Behavior: The International Journal of Industrial, Occupational and Organizational Psychology and Behavior 26.2 (2005): 155-176.

May, Douglas R., Richard L. Gilson, and Lynn M. Harter. "The psychological conditions of meaningfulness, safety and availability and the engagement of the human spirit at work." Journal of occupational and organizational psychology 77.1 (2004): 11-37.