Last night I had a quick change of plans when I was not allowed in the bar where the group of 20+ people that I was with was because when I renewed my driver's license, they failed to actually send me a new one. So four months later, I still rock the papers. Unknown to me, your papers expire after 45 days and the bouncers at Toby Kieth's bar... they follow the rules. But I digress...good thing I have an awesome BFF! 'Cause Jen promptly finished her beer, came out of the bar and just her and I went to Cooper's around the corner. Blessing in disguise because we needed Brookie and Jen-Jen time! We split a bottle of wine and a couple appetizers and used the time to discuss some light hearted topics like the purpose of our lives. You know, like you do.
So, I shouldn't be surprised then when I walk into church this morning and the topic is "Life With Purpose." Think God is trying to get my attention? Clearly. The sermon was fantastic. With a BILLION revelations for this girl... and not so much revelations because it was nothing that I didn't already know, more like reminders and not really any of the direction that I was seeking, but rather contentment with where I am with the promise that He will show me where He wants me in His timing. When the question is raised, "Why am I here?" Am I going to stand there response less, or am I going to to have a clear, well articulated answer? Jesus paid a high price for this life of mine and I refuse, for one second not to do everything in my power to give Him what he paid for! I could not live with myself knowing I wasted a second of the life he died to give me.
More then anything, I was reminded that this life, it's not about me. When I have been happiest in life, it's when I have been clearly living with that in the the front of my mind. The biggest take away I had from all my work in disaster zones was just that... there is real issues going on around us. There are real people literally and metaphorically dying out there, while we bitch and gripe about RIDICULOUS shit! I am not judging or pointing fingers because I am G-U-I-L-T-Y! I complain about people not driving fast enough in the fast lane, about having to pick up the slack for others and not getting into bars, when there are people around me, not far away, dealing with real issues, people starving, people crying, people dying inside, all while I stand there and take my AMAZING life for granted. I believe that in order to find your purpose in life, the first thing you have to realise is that it is not about you.
More specifically, in order to find your purpose, you have to consider four things (according to today's sermon)... your past, your personality, your passions and your position. Genesis 50:20 - "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." God can use the things that we have gone through and turn it around and use it as part of our purpose to help touch others. For me, this means that God uses my past, my hurts and my struggles to help me have compassion and empathy for those in similar situations. He uses the things that I have overcome to be able to give hope to others, to be able to say "you can do this... I have been there, I have hurt like this and thought that I would never come out of it... but I did and if I did... you can too!"
God also uses our personalities. Some people think that when you become a Christian, you also have to become one of those fake, smiley faced Christian, who speaks Christianeese and give up who you are. God made us who we are, he doesn't want us to give up anything... He created you with the personality that you have and He above anyone doesn't want you to give it up. Why change? Use your unique personality to touch the lives of others. This is something I feel fairly strong about. I know way too many people who have been turned off by Christianity because of said fake, smiley faced Christians who you can barely understand with all their Christian gibberish that real people just don't use. I think as Christians we do the kingdom a disservice when we do this, from the outside, people look at us and think "Well I don't want to look like that..." so they write us off entirely. One of the most amazing men that I have ever known, who I would almost be willing to bet my life on, has brought more people to Christ then anyone else I know, was real... really real...Mr. Peter Erickson. What made Peter's purpose special? He brought his real, raw self every time he was with you and every time you walked away from time with him thinking "I want what he has!"
Third thing to consider when trying to figure out your purpose is your passions. What are you passionate about? What excites you? It doesn't have to be churchy either... my passions!? Being healthy...working with people in crisis and being kind and positive to people when they least expect it. None of those things are overly churchy, but completely part of my purpose. Each one of us has deep passions, things were good at, things we care about... don't discredit those! I think all too often we think "How can that be used for greater purpose?" If I was going to go that route, I could easily say "how does my choice to be healthy and make that a priority in my life serve any greater purpose?" However, I know better then that... that God has a plan and through the things that we have passion for, He will use everything to touch the lives of others. I can't even count the times that God has used that passion of mine, to bridge gaps between myself and the hurt of others. Don't minimize the ways in which you are gifted, if you're not going to be bold and be you, who will be?
The last thing is our position. We are all placed in unique positions in life to be able to carry out our purpose. For me, the two biggest areas I see this working in my life is the position I am at in my family (the oldest of 6 kids) and my current position at work. I take my position as the oldest of my siblings very seriously. I love those kids and feel a strong sense of responsibility to love them, to care for them and to make sure that they know that above all else, if there is nothing in this world that they can count on, there is always one thing and that is that I will always be there for them and I violently love them!! In regards to work... I am INCREDIBLY blessed with my current job. It is VERY flexible as far as hours, PTO, pay, ect. I have a killer job. I really do. Yes, I do have the desire for something more, however I am in no hurry and know that when the time is right, God will make that clear to me. For right now and in the past, I feel very strongly that I need to be using that blessing to bless others! I have a ridiculous amount of PTO and have a very strong conviction that I wasn't blessed with the things that I have in life to keep them for myself. Because of this, I think it's important that I use that flexibility to be there for the people that I love when they need me and to take opportunities to get outside myself and to serve others in need. I.e. New Orleans, Galveston, Cedar Rapids, Rushford, Owatonna, Mississippi, and where ever God takes me next.
In order to find our purpose in life, we have to be willing to live boldly, be ok with people thinking we're crazy and know that it's useless to resist. For me... that purpose is to love the people around me. To share His love and "love them like Jesus," and to use the incredible amount of blessings that I have been given to bless the lives of others. I think that I have lost that a little lately and need to get back to it. Time to live life with purpose, on purpose.
