Upon the advice of a friend, I picked up the book Restless: Because You Were Made for More by Jennie Allen. It was perfect timing, since my ladies’ Bible study is off for summer break. The premise is clear from the title—digging in to discover what our purpose is.
Jennie Allen encourages her readers to think about those things God has put on their hearts and process the following questions: What are my gifts? What am I good at? What did I do well as a child?
Although I’ve been given a direction—one that I believe has a purpose beyond myself—I know that for years, I was discontent and searching. I became a teacher because I wanted to have a career that would take me outside myself—to give back. But writing was never far from my heart.
It’s so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day busyness of life. When I was raising kids and working part-time as a housekeeper, I thought it was a stellar day if I could just keep up—with the laundry, the housework, the after-school programs and the kids’ homework. I’d drop into bed every night, exhausted. So, I imagine if you’re in this season of life, the last thing you want to think about is doing something more. And it could be, your purpose right now is to raise Godly children.
However, I challenge you to take the questions from this book seriously and write down your thoughts. There will come a time when motherhood doesn’t suck up every minute of every day and your energy along with it. Then again, maybe you’re not in this season right now. Is there anything—no matter how crazy it may seem—that you’ve always desired to do?
God put it on my heart to be a writer from the time I can remember. It didn’t happen for years, but the desire was within me—growing stronger every day. And although I regret that I didn’t start this journey sooner, I know that everything happens in His time. I wasn’t ready to do His work, because I had no idea what that looked like. I still don’t at times, since it’s an ongoing process.
It’s taken years of Him working on my character to prepare me for this season—to have enough faith in myself and enough faith in Him to trust that what He started will eventually come to fruition. With every small success, I see that He’s working something in me—whether it’s humility (that’s a tough one), perseverance or diligence.
But I believe the key to success, at least for those of us walking with God, is that whatever we do, we give Him the glory.
A few years ago, my daughter, Nicole, was struggling with the writing process. She couldn’t understand why she’d get stuck mid-story every time. She must have had a half dozen beginnings to the same story, but then it fizzled. I asked her if what she was writing would glorify God. She hesitated. Why, she wanted to know, did she have to glorify God with her work. Other writers, who weren’t Christians, were successful, and they didn’t adhere to this. I explained that as a Christian, we’re called to a higher accountability than others. If we are a child of God, we then must act in accordance with that.
So, I urge you to dig deep and resurrect those childhood dreams. It just may be that God has had a plan for them all along!
