For many
years, I tried to find my true purpose in life. My focus. My focus from
God. My focus for God.
“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And
behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” (Matthew
28: 18-20 ESV)
I know this.
But, what does it look like for me?
When we got married, we had children. I
cleaned house, I made dinner, we attended ballgames, we went to their band concerts, and we
coached their teams. We volunteered in almost every activity the girls were
in. When Jessica started kindergarten, I quit my job because they would
not allow me to attend Kindergarten Orientation Day. I had focus. My focus was
my family. With a husband and four girls, there was a lot to focus on.
Fast forward about ten years I saw the writing on the wall and it wasn’t from crayon scribbles. The girls were growing up. I would have to find another purpose to fill my time. We were still pretty busy with activities and such, but I went back to college to finish my degree. In May 2014, I did. I am now a college graduate. I did it for myself, but I also did it for God. I mean, kind of. He did bless me with my intellect and I felt as though I would be failing Him if I did not finish my college degree. Mission accomplished.
As the girls start to leave home, my thoughts turn back to finding my “new calling”. But, I keep finding myself frozen by all of the possibilities. There is so much brokenness, hurt and sin in the world. How do I best serve God?
With my background as a child of the foster care system, I have often thought of getting involved there. I would like to help kids see that they can rise above their situation. They don’t have to remain victims of circumstance. They can stand strong and move past it all. Would I be allowed to share the message of God’s love and comfort? After all, I never would have survived my own ordeal without my hope in God and His Son, Jesus.
Then, I hear about the awful plight of women, children and even men who are caught in the world of human trafficking. What can I, just one mom living in Indiana, do to fix this? Ideas swirl around in my head, but again, I become overwhelmed and my thoughts turn to something more immediate and those ideas are lost. ( http://www.humantrafficking.org/ )
What about the homeless? How can we better serve the under privileged in society. Today’s world is never without plenty of souls who are poor, sick and homeless. They need our help and God’s message too. What big gesture can I make to help them? (http://www.wmm.org/ )
My latest preoccupation is abortion. I feel so many people would think differently about the issue if they took time to really examine the facts. Life is so precious and I think that when women find themselves in a situation that seems hopeless, it can be easy to forget that a life is being snuffed out in a matter of minutes. The viewing of the movie http://www.180movie.com/ helped me see that some people can and will change their minds if given a new perspective. Is this where God needs me?
All of these causes are ways of glorifying God. I want to choose the one where I will be most effective. I want to make a choice that brings His message to those who truly need it. I am a doer. I need results. After countless hours of sweat and tears, I want to see a finished product. Then, it occurred to me that all I need to do is….something. Just start. When I see a need, fill it. When someone is hurting, comfort them. God will lead me to where He wants me to go.
BOTTOM LINE: I just need to start planting and let God worry about the harvest.
Fast forward about ten years I saw the writing on the wall and it wasn’t from crayon scribbles. The girls were growing up. I would have to find another purpose to fill my time. We were still pretty busy with activities and such, but I went back to college to finish my degree. In May 2014, I did. I am now a college graduate. I did it for myself, but I also did it for God. I mean, kind of. He did bless me with my intellect and I felt as though I would be failing Him if I did not finish my college degree. Mission accomplished.
As the girls start to leave home, my thoughts turn back to finding my “new calling”. But, I keep finding myself frozen by all of the possibilities. There is so much brokenness, hurt and sin in the world. How do I best serve God?
With my background as a child of the foster care system, I have often thought of getting involved there. I would like to help kids see that they can rise above their situation. They don’t have to remain victims of circumstance. They can stand strong and move past it all. Would I be allowed to share the message of God’s love and comfort? After all, I never would have survived my own ordeal without my hope in God and His Son, Jesus.
Then, I hear about the awful plight of women, children and even men who are caught in the world of human trafficking. What can I, just one mom living in Indiana, do to fix this? Ideas swirl around in my head, but again, I become overwhelmed and my thoughts turn to something more immediate and those ideas are lost. ( http://www.humantrafficking.org/ )
What about the homeless? How can we better serve the under privileged in society. Today’s world is never without plenty of souls who are poor, sick and homeless. They need our help and God’s message too. What big gesture can I make to help them? (http://www.wmm.org/ )
My latest preoccupation is abortion. I feel so many people would think differently about the issue if they took time to really examine the facts. Life is so precious and I think that when women find themselves in a situation that seems hopeless, it can be easy to forget that a life is being snuffed out in a matter of minutes. The viewing of the movie http://www.180movie.com/ helped me see that some people can and will change their minds if given a new perspective. Is this where God needs me?
All of these causes are ways of glorifying God. I want to choose the one where I will be most effective. I want to make a choice that brings His message to those who truly need it. I am a doer. I need results. After countless hours of sweat and tears, I want to see a finished product. Then, it occurred to me that all I need to do is….something. Just start. When I see a need, fill it. When someone is hurting, comfort them. God will lead me to where He wants me to go.
BOTTOM LINE: I just need to start planting and let God worry about the harvest.
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