Identify Purpose

When you were little, what did you dream of becoming when you grew up? Did you want to be a police officer, an artist, drive racecars, or become a doctor? As children, we are taught to dream about what we want to be, and we envision careers.

 

                                    

We begin from an early age believing that what we do defines us. Don't get me wrong here, there is definitely some truth in that. What we do says a lot about the kind of person that we are. But we are not simply a police officer or a doctor, those things are not our identity or at least not the entirety of it. There are good and bad police officers, good and bad doctors, good and bad teachers. I think the idea that our career defines who we are is one of those ideas that we should develop over time with our kids, and even with ourselves. We need to continue the dialogue and keep asking, what do you want to be? And eventually you can shift the conversation to the character traits that are important to your kids by pointing out what makes a good teacher, a good police officer, a good doctor, a good mom or good engineer. We just have to help them unearth why they are drawn to these ideal careers. We need to teach them that we aren't defined by one thing, we are too complex for that. I wonder what my life would be like now if I had learned right then and there as I was dreaming about being a veterinarian and having 10 kids at home while I went off to save all those poor animals that those things were good, but that they could only be a very small part of who I actually am.  

Because now, as a mom I struggle with my identity. I struggle knowing that I am valuable even though I don't have a "career". When I meet people for the first time, and they ask me what I do, I have to take a deep breath and I want to explain that I don't just stay home, but that I also help my husband with our business, because being "just" a mom feels small. I feel the need to explain to this perfect stranger that I am so much more than "just' a mom. I don't know why I do this, and I start rambling about how many kids I have, and how they keep me busy with their activities, because there is so much more to what I do then being "just" a mom. That who I am is much more complicated than what I simply do, and that my identity cannot be defined by one role that I play. Our identities are complex, but our purpose is simple. I have to keep reminding myself that my purpose is to bring glory to God. That's it. Give glory to God in all things, in all the roles that I play in life, in my success and my failures. All of the things that I do and am a wife, mother, friend, daughter, those are all simply ways that I can accomplish my purpose. They are not my identity, no one of those good things can define me absolutely. They can only be part of the complexity of who I am. I think we get our identities and our purpose flipped more often than not. And it starts so young. We think that our identity is what we do, that who we are should be summed up in one word. But we do so many things, how can any one thing define us? 

We are too complex and beautiful for our identity to be summed up in one word, or character trait. It is our purpose that is simple, and we try to make it complex. In so doing, we easily see ourselves as not doing enough, or being enough. I love how Candace Cameron Bure puts it in her book Kindness is the New Classy, "Often we put the cart before the horse, seeing the specific ways we live out our purpose as the purpose itself. Being a champion for the poor, fighting human trafficking, or helping the sick are worthy and valuable causes but they are not our ultimate purpose. They are simply the means to glorify God by caring for others. Bringing God glory is the purpose, the specific ways we do that are the process." I want to gently and lovingly remind you that you are created by God to bring glory to Him. I pray that you can anchor yourself in this truth, I hope that you allow it to be the guiding light you head towards every day.  What if we repeated this to our kids over and over until it became a truth that they could also anchor themselves to? How freeing would that be?

Freedom in Christ is such a beautiful thing. It means that we can all be different. We can pursue our passions, we can be moms, teachers, doctors, artists we can be anything we dream of being as long as we put our purpose of glorifying God first. We can even bring glory to God when we fail through how we handle ourselves, our fruits of the spirit bring glory to God even in our failures. When we show love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control even in our failures, we are bringing glory to God. Because these fruits of the spirit are not the norm in our rage and cancel culture, it makes us stand out from "the world". When we seek to humbly reconcile with those that we have wronged or have wronged us (forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us) we are pointing people to Jesus. By letting Jesus fill us with these spiritual fruits we are living in the world but not being of the world. 

What if we are challenged to be defined as anything other than the job that we might have. It's a shame that we aren't asked as children what KIND of people we want to become. I've started trying to ask my kids what kind of person that want to be when they get older. Instead of what they want to do, what character traits are important to them, and why. I am hoping that it will better equip them for real life, and hopefully they can own their identities at much earlier ages than I did, I'm still learning about the kind of person I want to be, and that's ok. But I sure would like for them to have it easier than I did. Knowing that my purpose is the most important thing about me, that my identity is secure in the fact that I am created to bring glory to God, is kind of a relief. All I have to strive for every day, in all I do is to give God glory. I do not have to be perfect, not a perfect mom, not a perfect wife, not a perfect friend. I just have to do my very best to glorify God while carrying out all of the roles God has given me to fill. Because even when I fail, if I bring glory to God in my failures, then I am still fulfilling my purpose. And that is pretty amazing. I saw this book at the coffee shop this morning, and I was just like YES! Yes, the world DOES need who you were made to be! You were made to bring glory to God, and it doesn't matter HOW you do that. We all get to be different and that is just so cool to me!

May we be brave enough to live life connected to others, being vulnerable and real. May we be bold enough to live life on purpose with purpose every day. And may we all be kind, being filled with the fruits of the spirit showing love to those around us even in the smallest most mundane things.  This is one of my favorite shirts, and I wear it often. I hope you remember to be brave, be bold, and be kind. 

Special thanks to LOGAN WEAVER | @LGNWVR and Akram Huseyn on Unsplash for the photos!