At church today, we celebrated Pastor’s Appreciation, and it made me think about purpose. If you read my About page, you’ll get a glimpse into my background and my purpose. I say a glimpse because like I wrote in there, God’s thoughts and ways are higher than ours, and when I thought I knew my purpose, God’s plan was different.
I see purpose in two ways. There’s the solid, concrete, forever kind of purpose. That thing that makes us say, “This is what I was born to do.” Then there’s the changing kind of purpose. That thing that makes us say, “I’m at the right place and the right time,” but then one day, the right place and time will change.
For me personally, I heard the calling of God in my life to be a children’s pastor and go into missions. That was my purpose. That was the driving force behind my choice of college and degree. I was following God’s calling. Nobody could deter me. And at that point in my life, I was also at the right place and the right time.
I thought I saw the path of my life. It was laid out right in front of me. But God showed me that His thoughts and ways are still higher than mine. That He only gave me a glimpse of my purpose. And He stirred in me different passions that uses gifts He gave me for His glory, like writing.
I know what I was born to do, and it’s to honor God with what He gave me. And okay, that’s kind of cliche and generic. It’s not a very concrete, “I was born to be a pastor” or “I was born to be a doctor.” So okay, let me declare this publicly (with a little degree of anxiety). I was born to be a Children’s pastor and to go into missions. But it’s not going to look like how I pictured it to be.
Because God is stirring something in my heart. And though I’m in the ministry and though technically I can go on mission trips, God is giving me glimpses on different ways to pastor children and the different mission fields around me.
Am I being vague? I’m sorry. It’s scary to voice God stirrings. It makes it public record. And suddenly I’ve got an assignment from God. Meanwhile, I’m like…whaaaat? Hold on, I just blogged about this.
So without leaving anyone hanging, let me connect it to writing. One way to pastor to children is by writing stories influenced with Christian values or writing more Sunday School lessons or curriculum. And a different mission field, a vast mission field, is online. To share share ministry resources for free or cheap (and that’s one desire I have, which I’m working on, slowly). To encourage ladies and women in faith, life, and ministry through this blog. That’s my intentional mission statement, btw.
And that last paragraph is my right place and right time right now. But I can just feel that God’s really not done with me yet. I’ve yet to realize how He can really move in my life. And when I think I’ve grasped my purpose, God will be there saying, “Just wait and see. My thoughts and ways are higher still.”
Perhaps you know your purpose or perhaps you’re still figuring it out. Either way, get excited because when you’re God’s child, His purpose for you is going to be crazy, amazing, surprising, and higher than anything you can imagine.
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