Dear
______________________,
Thank you for taking the time to write to me with your question.
First, let me say that I absolutely do consider my abilities to be a
gift from God and I am honored and blessed to use them in my personal
ministry and practice. I am sorry that you feel offense through
anything associated with myself or my work. This is, of course, never
my intention.
Believe it or not, I can sympathize with your feelings about this
issue. You might be surprised to know that for the first 18 years of
using my
gifts to serve others, I never asked for nor accepted a cent nor any
other form of compensation. Not once. This was because I too, asked
myself the
same question. I believed, as many people do, that somehow living a
life
dedicated to Spirituality and service also meant living a life of
poverty and lack.
Then, something interesting happened to me.
After several years of this and experiencing exhaustion and burn-out, I
asked, in prayer, what I was doing wrong. I deeply loved my Spiritual
work and I gave my utmost, why wasn't I also then given the physical
energy and stamina to continue? Why was I so exhausted? How could I be
expected to carry on? Not to mention the fact that I could barely make
ends meet. Something just didn't add up. So I began to ponder, pray
about and meditate upon the issues.
What I heard in response shocked me: "What
took you so long to ask?"
I had never really taken the time to ask and ponder, specifically, this
issue. I had simply been living under my mistaken assumption that
making my living and supporting my Spiritual work
could not come from the Spiritual work itself.
Once I asked, I got the answer. I was to make my living and support my
work through that same work.
Yes, I consider my abilities to be gifts from God - just
as a
musician's abilities are a gift, just as a physician's abilities are a
gift, just as a school teacher's abilities are a gift, and a
carpenter's and so on. Each
person is given unique gifts,
things for which they have a natural aptitude, things about which they
are passionate. These things are given to them to help Guide them to
their joy, their fulfillment, their purpose, and to help them support
themselves and their families. Why
had I been thinking I was any different?
From that point on, I began charging for my services.
A large amount of my time is still spent volunteering my services
and/or time. I offer free assistance with missing persons and unsolved
crimes cases, low cost Spiritual Counseling, free Spiritual advice, and
I am involved in various environmental, human, civil rights
organizations.
I am blessed to be able to earn
my living doing what I love and using
my gifts to serve others. I am also proud of my commitment to ensure
the
utmost quality at reasonable rates. I am absolutely committed to the
work I do and I have never been "in it for the money." Anyone who knows
me will testify to the fact that I am far from financially wealthy.
Achieving this balance in my
life has been a struggle for me that took longer than I like to admit
and
it's still a work in progress but it's every bit worth the effort.
Thank you again for your question.
Brightest Blessings,
~ Jordyn