I spent forty years working in architecture, designing buildings meant to serve communities. Reading this verse late in life, I realized that Paul is describing something similar—that God has crafted each of us for good works prepared in advance. We're not accidents or blank slates. We're designed with purpose.
That's different from the pressure I felt for decades to discover my calling or figure out the one right thing I'm supposed to do. It's not that there's one perfect answer waiting to be found. It's that I've been designed with particular capacities, experiences, and inclinations that position me for certain kinds of good works. The works were prepared. I'm meant to show up to them.
When I retired and thought my purposeful years were behind me, this verse redirected me. I started mentoring younger architects about ethical building practices. I volunteered on community development boards. The works are still there, waiting for people designed to do them. I just had to stay attentive to what I was actually positioned and gifted to do.
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