When I was seventeen, I remember praying and asking God to use me for good in this world. I wanted my life to count. But I had no idea how. I didn’t fully know or understand my strengths or my weaknesses. And unlike so many of my fellow overachieving friends, I didn’t have a plan for my life. College was mere months away, and I had no clue what to major in.
I wanted to do something that mattered, but I felt lost.
I share this today, because on some level, I believe you can relate. I believe we all want our lives to count. We want the way we spend all of our minutes and hours to add up to something good. Only for some us, we reach certain seasons in our lives where we’re not so sure they are. Where our path is unclear, and our past feels unaccounted for.
We’re lost, and we don’t know how to move forward.
The reason for this, I believe, is usually one of two things. First, it is because we’ve lost our sense of purpose. Or, second, we never had a clear understanding of our purpose in the first place.
The word I like to use for purpose is Calling. Believing that we are not just our bodies, but also heart and soul, there has to be something about us that transcends career and occupation. Something that is true about us no matter what century we live in, or economic shake ups our community faces. A unique way of living and giving in our world that is solely ours. Before we apply to college, and long after we retire, I believe
Each of us has a calling.
Only because our world talks in the language of degrees, careers, and corporations, it is easy to find ourselves on paths that don’t fully suit us. Like the sneakers I bought last month because they were a great price and they were red. I knew even in the store I couldn’t walk for miles in them. They slip a little. They look great, but like so many jobs we find ourselves in, they don’t fit perfectly.
Now, I wish I could say the answer is for us to leave our jobs. But as I said before, our calling transcends occupation. And the process is much more specific to our individual stories and a bit more complex. When as a senior in high school, I prayed for God to use me, I had no idea the journey that was ahead. Or that God would answer my prayer by revealing my calling through a number of unexpected twists and turns.
What He has put inside each of us to do, is always so much more than we can imagine. It supersedes titles and position. For this reason, the first step is to begin to seek to uncover our individual callings, and figure out how to live into them right where we are.
This process may or may not lead to a career change. But I can guarantee, it will lead to a more joyful and fulfilling life. By honing in on what my calling is on this earth, I have been able to see how my gifts can specifically be used for good. Right now, it looks like coaching others as they hone in on their callings, and make some big life decisions that reflect what they’ve discovered. Walking alongside others and empowering them to succeed is what I was made to do.
Do you know what you’ve been made to do?
If so, I would love to know how you discovered your calling. If not, I hope you continue to join us as we focus on this important aspect of our journey.
Stay tuned for Thursday’s post in which I will share five things you can do to better understand your purpose in this world.
Have I told you that I offer an eight week coaching module to help people not only discover their calling, but also better understand their identity and career path as well? Click here to find out more.
Would you like more from Melissaschlies.com delivered to your inbox?
If so, subscribe here.
