Look, Then Leap!

I am becoming more and more aware of how acutely important, even down to a physical and emotional level, purpose is.  You can have money; you can have relationships, but without purpose, life is empty.  Purpose sets the criteria for the day to day decisions we make - how we earn and spend our money, what food we choose to eat, what we do with our free time, what we would do to get free time.  Purpose is that ingredient which, when added to the human spirit, causes growth.  Without it, the soul withers and dies, a slow, painful merciless death.  Some people try to live utilizing other people's purpose.  That can work for a while, but it doesn't have a fulfilling edge.  It leaves one feeling artificial, untrue to the person God meant us to be when He created us.  And when the source of that other purpose is cut off, we 're back to zero, looking again for meaning in life, and answers to questions we've never addressed or asked before.  Don't get me wrong, purpose doesn't need to be a grandiose thing.  It can be as simple as taking care of a child or a sick person, or praying for needs that touch our hearts.  But it has to be genuinely from our hearts.   It has to be the purpose that God made us to fulfill.  When times in our lives create disconnection between us and our purpose circumstantially, the struggle to maintain the integrity of our person is huge.  We see this when people go through transitions such as the loss of a job, or the changing of a career, or a child who leaves home to go out on their own, or the death of a spouse.  Anything that chips away at the underlying foundational purpose of our being causes us to reevaluate how we live, who we are, and what we are doing.  The trick is not to get caught up in the analysis so much that it becomes the center of our activity, and we become paralyzed.  In other words, when purpose changes, look for a while, then leap!  After all, we never get it completely right, no matter how hard we try.  I choose to live believing that God has a purpose for me, even if I can't see it right now.  I invite you to do the same.