Our purpose.

It’s hard to imagine, but God designed you and your purpose long before your parents conceived you. Your days are numbered by Him, and He places you where you are in this moment.  We often question our purpose, especially during times of suffering, or monotony.

Jeremiah 1:4-5 The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.

Oh, how He loves us! He has loved us even before the world began, and He will love us for eternity!

You who have been born by Me from birth
         And have been carried from the womb;

Even to your old age I will be the same,
         And even to your graying years I will bear you!
         I have done it, and I will carry you;
         And I will bear you and I will deliver you. Isaiah 46

Did you notice the past tense–“I have done it”?  We never have to question if God is for us–He has done it!

My husband and I finally made it a point to take a walk and exercise this weekend. I came back from a great walk renewed and was on the floor stretching and resting when my mom came into the room to lay next to me.  We held each other and expressed tears of joy.

At 80 something, she wanted to make sure I knew how much she loved me.  We have a family member in long term care, and if you’ve ever visited a place like this, you realize how short your life is, and how very quickly all that you’ve known could vanish from your memory.  It’s one thing to see it in famous movies like The Notebook, it’s another to live it. In that moment, our purpose was to love each other, and to share our hearts. I told her that I have many good memories of her love and our life together as mother and daughter.  Her willingness to share her soul work with me brought healing and rejuvenation.  I love you sweet mama! We will know His love for eternity.

On Sunday, our family sat outside in God’s beauty to study His Word and read Rick Warren’s booklet, What on Earth Am I Here For?  My daughters took turns reading chapter one-“It All Starts with God!”  As we read over and over again about God’s purpose for us, we were all challenged to see and claim the presence of God.  My husband interrupted the reading to make us look up in the sky.

No rain.  No reason for a rainbow. But there it was–a rainbow.  The same rainbow since Noah, reminding us that His promises are true.  He never fails us.  You’ll notice the rainbow just above the roof.  I have to say, that cloud in the center of the rainbow looks like Jesus to me, holding out his hands towards us.  God has done it.  Always there.  He will always be there.

We had Bible study last night in our home with Woman of Worth Mentoring Ministries, in which, we studied chapter one of the booklet. WOW! I was blown away with the power of the Holy Spirit confirming His plan for each individual.  All of us so different and ready to understand the power of His plan for us.

But there is a God, who made you for a reason, and your life has profound meaning!  We discover that meaning and purpose only when we make God the reference point of our lives.  “The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us.” (Rick Warren)

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.  Romans 12

My ordinary life—placed before God as an offering.  Lord, we embrace what you do for us and rest in the knowledge that YOU have done it.

We closed out the night with each of us holding our 10 foot rope.  The 10 feet of rope represented eternity with God.  A tiny portion of the rope had a piece of duck tape to represent our life on earth-our time here.

All the decisions we make this side of heaven pour into eternity or keep us focused on the temporal things. What if we saw our lives in light of eternity?

Mom, maybe we will have to temporarily go through memory loss, but eternity says we will live together in complete healing with Jesus.  Teenager, maybe you don’t have a date for prom, but God’s eternity says you are accepted and loved by the King and fearfully and wonderfully made.  Oh that our minds could see eternity in all that we do.  It takes the ordinary, the hard, and makes it extraordinary.