This post first appeared in my blog in October 2015, but its still just as good now as it was then.
It seems like you probably ought to know what you want to be by now. Because technically you've been a grown up for awhile. :)
It seems like everyone else got it figured out in their twenties, or at least by their mid-thirties.
But you're still waiting on that epiphany that tells you, "This, THIS....is what I'm here for!" (There will, of course be a beam of light that will shine down upon you and there will be angelic choirs singing at that very moment. You will fall to your knees and open your hands to the heavens, releasing butterflies that will flutter around you in a magical dance.)
I've actually never known anyone who has had that kind of experience, but somehow we all kind of think that we will have "A MOMENT" in which all will become clear, even if it only happens in the Starbucks line.
Awhile back, I wrote a devotional/workbook for Women of Faith, about discovering your life purpose. It really challenged me to work through my presuppositions, and ask questions, and truly think about what purpose is all about.
I realized something important.
Those epiphany "MOMENTS" rarely happen.
Mostly, we find our purpose by bits and pieces.
You might even say, by fits and starts.
And sometimes, we bump into it without much of a plan. One day we might look up from something completely unglamorous and say, "Huh. So this is what it's all about. Cool!"
And that's perfectly okay.
Because you don't need an epiphany to be operating in your purpose.
In fact, you are probably already living it, even as you're waiting for that "other thing," that thing that you think you're supposed to do that's really remarkable, to happen.
Your greatest purpose in life is right in front of you, today.
Purpose is not for tomorrow. It's not for someday.
Your purpose is for today.
It's for the hours you're given today, for the decisions you face today, and for the moments that make up your life...today.
Your purpose is to simply do what's before you, in the best way that you can.
This is what I know: Your purpose is to do the right thing, which is to show up today.
Show up for the laundry, and for the job, and for the people who depend on you. Show up for your art, or that volunteer clean up crew you signed up for, or that blog you think no one reads, or that marriage that feels lifeless. There aren't any shortcuts, and there aren't any get-rich-quick schemes that will put you on the road to "success."
There is only faithfulness in the small things, and trust.
You can trust that God is working to bring about his purposes in you each day.
He sees you.
He knows you.
He has you in his hands.
God's got you.
So if you're still wondering what you're supposed to be when you grow up, just relax.
Because you're already who you're supposed to be.
So now? Just go live into it.
I'm praying for you today, my friend!
Love, Rachel