Are You Fulfilling Your Purpose?
Posted on 11.14.06 in Faith and there are 4 comments.
I’m preparing for our Bible study group tonight. My husband and I lead a small group of families each week in discussion, worship and prayer. It’s been a wonderful challenge to try to lead effectively during this season of our lives. Honestly, sometimes I don’t want to. Sometimes, I just want to go and have someone else be in charge. Sometimes I don’t feel like I have anything to give. Sometimes I just want to stay home.
Tonight we’re discussing the life of David. More specifically, we’re discussing the way he ended his life. Acts 13:36 says, “For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep...”
David finished well. He served God’s purpose in his own generation. Not just back when he was in his twenties. Not just in his childhood. But throughout his life and to the very end he sought with passion to fulfill God’s purpose.
I want that to be true of me. I want to follow God well in every season of my life. Right now, I think my purpose is to be a good wife and a good mother. Honestly, I never grew up aspiring to be either, but this is where I am and I couldn’t love anything more. It’s profoundly challenging, humbling and tiring, but I want to finish each day well. I want to send my children off to school in a few years knowing that I did my best to give them a good foundation on which to make decisions and to love others.
I don’t always want to lead the women in discussion at our Bible Study and I don’t always want to wake up in the morning and change diapers or do housework. It’s not always easy and it’s not always comfortable, but I’m quite certain that God’s purpose for my life isn’t for me isn’t comfort. It’s change.
The days are long, but the years are short. Let’s live them well.
What’s your purpose right now? Do you feel like you’re fulfilling it?
There are 4 comments.
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My purpose? To love God, to allow the truth of who He is and who I am in Him to sink deeply into my heart and to love the people He has placed in my life at this present time. I’m not always very good at it, I get tired, grumpy, worn out from hearing the same excuses from students, tired of the many shortcuts people take that add up to lots of inconvenience. But I try and I ask Him to help me, to give me the grace I need for each day, to treasure the mundane, and cherish the life I have, all the while being willing to lay it down at any moment for the sake of following Him.
Nov 14, 06 at 09:18 pm
Good stuff Amy. I especially like the last line:
But I try and I ask Him to help me, to give me the grace I need for each day, to treasure the mundane, and cherish the life I have, all the while being willing to lay it down at any moment for the sake of following Him.
I think that really encapsulates what each of us needs, regardless of our circumstances or specific purpose in life.
Thank for sharing!
Nov 16, 06 at 09:38 am
Kat,
I read this post several days ago, and wanted to respond. But my two little munchkins did not oblige until now.
My primary purpose is raising my kids and supporting my husband. But your question got me to thinking about the different ways we can look at purpose, particularly in regards to motherhood. My husband and I decided that I would stay home while our kids were young. We had no idea at the time how hard this work would be, but even now, we know it is the right choice. This is the only time they will ever need us in this way. God had provided for us financially to live on one income, and so here we are--I’m a stay-at-home mom.
The story gets complicated when I share that this role is exhausting and hard. I feel nearly certain that I am not one of those women that are “made” for this job. Of course my “purpose” is to be a mom to my children, but I don’t think that speaks to my unique gifts.
I have been struggling with this issue for some time, and had the opportunity to work a few hours a week as a writing consultant. I started just this week and found it so rewarding. For these few hours, I felt like I had tapped into my other “purpose"--not because it was hard, but because it was easy.
My conclusions from this experience are still unfolding. Here’s where I am now:
Being a stay at home is hard (at least for me). If I had chosen not to stay home, it would be because it would have been easier for me not because it would have been best for my kids. They are my priority and I choose to pour my efforts and time into their lives.
Sidenote: Working moms often say that they are better moms because they work. I think I know what they mean. Dealing with little ones all day can make anyone grumpy. But I don’t think this argument alone should guide our choices in motherhood. Sometimes fulfilling our purpose is challenging!
Being a wife and mother are highest on my list of fulfilling my purpose, but they do not speak to what is unique about who I am. This is not the end of my purpose. I have a purpose in my obligations and love of others through family, but I also have a purpose in relating to the wider world. But for now, I’ve got some bathrooms to scrub!
Sep 24, 07 at 06:01 am
The saddest thing that could ever happen to anyone is to go through life and come to the end without ever discovering and fulfilling his/her purpose. If the cemeteries could speak--there are so many unsung songs there, so many unwritten poems there, so many gifts and talents rotting there--all because someone failed to fulfil his/her purpose.
I want to fulfil mine--not just fulfil, but do it well.
Cheeres
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Amy
Nov 14, 06 at 05:18 pm