A Whole New World
God has plans that He is faithful to reveal at the appropriate time
I had been flown to New York and shuttled to my company’s headquarters in Connecticut, and I felt a little like I was in a Hallmark movie about a hardworking career girl who found herself getting all the things she ever wanted. Until I met Nora, and I realized I could have higher aspirations. Nora handed me her business card, and it turns out she was the company’s Vice President of Style. We were both interior designers, but Nora was Vice President of Style. For real, that was a thing you could be. I now knew there was a dream job I hadn’t even fathomed.
I had survived college, got the husband, had a matching set of adorable boys, and was now mentally singing the theme song to my Hallmark movie in my head while breezing through the lobby of the corporate offices feeling like bursting into song.
And then bam! Another world opened up… a world where a woman could be Vice President of Style. I hadn’t imagined going any further until that moment.
When I got home, I was once again an insecure wife, first year design lackey, and harried mom who was trying to convince my children that the bananas I was throwing at them in the back seat actually was breakfast, and they should hold their complaints for the actual disappointment that dinner was sure to be. I was not even qualified to be the Vice President of Clean Laundry, let alone Style. I let go of the notion I was equipped to handle any position of prestige, and clung to little victories that got me from day to day.
In similar fashion, I get glimpses of my purpose in Christ when I am in prayer or in Christian community, and I have that Hallmark movie moment all over again. The sense that we are made for more than family or career; that God has designed us to support each other in the world, and He has big ideas we can’t wrap our minds around until we have that moment where our eyes are suddenly opened to possibility.
Life around us doesn’t always reflect that we are equipped to carry out any mandate from God- in fact, it almost always looks the opposite. Yet God resolutely and steadfastly believes the best of us in all our seasons, firmly assured that He was correct in calling us forth in the purpose He designed us for. When you are hopeful and assured that God knows what He is doing in regards to your life, you can be open to the moments when the bits and pieces of your purpose are revealed to you.
It is great to have a sense of what the whole picture may be, but the truth is purpose is carried out in little steps. You may have only a small bit of God’s grand vision, so stay faithful to the things you know to do that line up with His word, and have eyes of faith when the “ah-ha” moments hit you. “For it is God who works in you, to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose (Phil. 2:13).”
Reflection
1. Do you have a sense of your purpose, but feel life is getting in the way of fulfilling it? What are those things?
2. What things do you know you can do to be faithful to God when you are working through those challenges?
3. What little dreams and visions do you still harbor in your heart despite the challenges? Do you feel God honors them?
Goals
What are 3 things you can establish in your routines that will help you keep your focus on the Lord?
For it is God who works in you, to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose (Philippians 2:13)