The Purpose Driven drive

Some time ago I found myself having been unable to gain a career foothold in Cincinnati, my hometown.

I had returned there after finishing college and holding a nice little job as a sports writer in my adopted home of Portsmouth, Ohio but when my seasonal job expired, I was unemployed.

The Portsmouth newspaper I had left had fallen on some harder times and had an opening for sports editor. I negotiated a pretty decent situation, packed literally everything I owned into my car, and began the 2.5 hour drive from the place I always wanted to be to the place I thought I had left behind.

I was moving down there to live (somewhat illegally) on a buddy's couch in campus housing while I looked for an apartment.

All that back story is to tell you about that drive.

I like to think I'm a fairly introspective person, but never before, or since, have I focused for more than two hours on who I was, what I was going to do with my life, or who I should be than on that drive.

And I didn't come up with a whole lot. I knew I was a good reporter, a solid writer, a fan of sports and an acceptable editor. Seemed to me I was doing what I was born for. But it just didn't feel like it was enough.

I was using my God given talents for what seemed to be their God-given purpose. But on reflection, God didn't likely have a major interest in small town college and high school sports.

Over the next couple of years I stayed in sports but drifted in my interests toward the political or crime news, even serving as interim co-managing editor of the paper for a spell. I was drifting toward a sense of meaning.

I wanted to use my talents for something more than entertainment (sports) and was moving toward educating/informing (news). In the time since I left the paper for essentially a sports pagination/editing job, I've thought that maybe I didn't follow that path as far as I could.

If I had, the next step I think, would be working in the Catholic media. There's no more money (perhaps less even) in that than in traditional media, but there is a purpose. Those in Catholic media, be it print, radio, TV or the internet are a force for the culture of life against the culture of death.

Every day they go to work, whether they're on air talent, a blogger or a call screener, they're doing something active for the Kingdom of God.

I've noticed this more and more since moving to Lexington, Ky. and finding a local catholic station (locals reading this, tune into 1380 AM or 94.9 FM) to listen to. Every day I listen I learn more and grow a little in faith. And for the record most of it's pretty entertaining too.

That's what I want to do. That's who I want to be.

I've not heard a boom voice from heaven tell me what to do. I've not seen a sign in the sky that says what direction to take.

But I don't need that. I need only look to the example seen in Isaiah 6:8

"And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send? and who shall go for us? And I said: Lo, here am I, send me."

This is not my only blog. I have another where I argue in a never-ending cycle with an atheist and an agnostic. That's fun, and enlightening in it's own way. But this blog, One from the Pews, will be for Catholics by a Catholic.

I don't know if my contribution to Catholic media will ever be more than just a blog in a dark corner of the internet. If it is, that's fine. I'll just try to shine a little light when and where I can.