it’s okay to take time to find your purpose

This is going to sound crazy, but I don’t think I ever realized how incredible of a feeling finding one of your biggest passions can be.

When I was growing up, especially when I left to go to college, a question that always surrounded me was this idea that I needed to figure out my passions and callings for my life. A book I read in high school and then again in college, called “The Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren, was a huge hit amongst family and friends, so I thought I’d try it out.

Although it doesn’t exactly tell you what your calling and purpose in life is, this book really helps you think about it from a God perspective. It assists your mind in shifting from a worldly gaze and focus more to a Christian and faith-based perspective, while still keeping it applicable to the culture and time period today.

As I read this book, I realized that God really did have plans and purposes and callings and passions for my life. I think it’s really easy for us to forget that in college because we are so focused on our studies and think our academic majors are our entire life. I may be called to be in the engineering field, but is that all God has for me? What about my creative side and love for writing? What about my other interests? Are those just things that are part of my personality, or could they mean something more?

These past few weeks I have been pursuing an interest of mine in the hopes of turning it into something more. Kind of like I mentioned in my previous two blog posts, it can be really difficult to choose a new path in life because you have no idea if it’s going to lead to failure or success.

Because of this, I decided to do some extra research and spend a lot more time praying and investing in this idea for my life. While it doesn’t necessarily involve a career change, it could alter the course of not only my life, but also impact the lives of the members of my family!

Today was one of those days where I decided to invest again in this interest, and boy did it reap a harvest! The more I spent learning about this specific passion of mine, the more excited I got about it. I was learning and experiencing new things that I never had thought of before, and it gave me so much joy to know that what I was doing would not only get me excited, but I could also use it to serve and love others in my circle and community!

While I’m not quite ready to indulge you in what this passion is, I can say with absolute certainty that I can definitely see a future in it, much deeper than I currently have now.

My point in sharing this little tidbit with you is this: it may take you a long time to figure out what your passions and callings are in life. It may seem really discouraging because you keep searching and can’t find it. But trust me, the moment you do finally discover it, it’ll be worth it. And you wanna know what else? It is NEVER too late to figure it out. Our culture says we need to hurry up and figure out what we want to do with our lives, but there truly isn’t any pressure. God does everything in His timing, and His timing is always best. It may not appear that way, but it really is.

So take heart this week, friends! If you’re struggling with trying to figure out what to do, don’t despair. God is listening to your heart crying out, and He is going to answer your prayers. It may take longer than anticipated, but it will always come at just the right time, in just the right way.