Discovering God’s call on your life and fulfilling His will is deeply satisfying and rewarding. As author Os Guinness says, “No idea short of God’s call can ground and fulfill the truest human desire for purpose and fulfillment.”

But the journey can sometimes be fraught with twists and turns, unanswered questions and multiple forks without clear direction.

That was true when God called Abram—later to be renamed Abraham—to leave his country, his people and his father’s household (Genesis 12:1-3). All God said was, “Go to the land I will show you.” No specifics. But God promised Abram that He would make him a great nation and that He would bless all the peoples on earth through him and his seed.

It was just him and Sarai. Isaac wasn’t in the picture yet. But that didn’t keep Abram from obeying God’s calling. And the Lord certainly fulfilled His promise to him!

I now think of Jim and Linda Jones of Sylacauga, Ala.—a small city in a very rural county in the central part of the state. They had enjoyed highly successful careers as a nurse anesthetist and surgical nurse, respectively. As retirement grew nearer, they thought their next stage would be filled with leisurely days of fishing, visiting family and going on mission trips as they had done for years.

Their world was rocked, though, in 2008. Jim, then 64, suffered a minor stroke during a family vacation in Orlando, forcing him to hang up his scrubs. A few months later, while in Cincinnati helping one of their children with a difficult pregnancy, they attended a church service they randomly picked out from the phone book.

The guest speaker leads a local food ministry and said that somebody in attendance should be doing something about hunger where they live. Pointing directly at Jim, the speaker said, “And that person is you!” Jim and Linda gulped, then squirmed.

The two had seen hunger in Kenya, Dominican Republic and Honduras but had no idea what to do about it in Central Alabama. They wondered where and how to start. They didn’t have the expertise or the money. So they wrestled with this calling, at times going sleepless at night. In essence, admittedly, they rebelled and ran.

But eventually, wanting to please God, they prayed, searched the Scriptures and sought counsel. Despite their fears, they trusted God and dove in, launching in late 2010. For about 10 months, they bought food in local grocery stores and passed out 40 bags to children at a nearby housing complex—out of the back of their pickup truck. When they discovered teachers were buying food on their own to give to their students, Jim and Linda shifted their efforts toward needy kids in area schools.

As their ministry grew exponentially, the couple quickly learned to prayerfully lean on God to provide the resources to handle the burgeoning list of needy children—and eventually families. Jim and Linda attest that this is a God-size mission! Today, they and an army of 500 volunteers every week help feed more than 2,200 students at 38 schools in nine counties and nearly 800 families each month. To date, Alabama Childhood Food Solutions (https://alabamachildhoodfood.com/) has distributed 457,096 bags of food to needy children—equaling 1.8 million pounds of food. In addition, they’ve distributed 3.5 million pounds of food to families.

And on top of all that, they’ve helped birth 12 food ministries like theirs throughout Alabama and in Georgia.

But Jim and Linda don’t stop there. They not only feed people who are physically hungry, their mission addresses spiritual needs as well. With each bag or box of food, they insert a Life Event Card, which has a Bible verse and two or three sentences related to the passage. Countless numbers of children and adults have appreciated their simple witness and some have given their lives to Jesus.

Jim and Linda don’t consider themselves super heroes but just ordinary Christians who follow an extraordinary God. Over the past 11 years, they’ve witnessed God answering prayer after prayer to time and time again meet their needs. They never tire of telling of His mighty provision.

“We’re honored, and humbled, that God would choose us to do what He has called us to do,” Jim says. “Yes, our retirement years look a whole lot different than we ever anticipated. But it’s such a reward to be able to continue doing this ministry, even now into our mid-70s. But God is giving us the ability to serve Him and to do His will. It sure is keeping us youthful!”

ACTION STEP: How about you my friend? Do you sense God leading you in a new or different direction? Respond to His call on your life. God promises: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6, NASB). Ask Him today to fulfill His mission through you, whatever that may look like. He will prove Himself faithful!