After 12 days and over 3,000 miles of travel, glorious weather, and a heart full of special memory-making moments, we’re home. Sigh. I looked forward to this trip for months, savoring the anticipation, but now it’s in the past and “normal” looms before me. Sigh. Have you been here? What happens next? Well, like any situation we face, we are driven to make a decision: Do I give in to the ache of missing family? Do I wallow in the depths of despair? Do I become discouraged with life, going so far as to think there is no purpose in life? These are a grandma’s reactions but even if you are a mom who has just returned from visiting far-away parents, family, or a quiet vacation, the reaction can be the same (except that you have so many little lives to care for that there is little time for wallowing).
How do you find purpose in life? A musing memory comes to my mind of a dear high school friend with whom I would walk from the bus to my locker every morning. As we climbed the stairs, she would look at me and say, “Humski (that was the Polish version of my maiden name, Hummel—no offense meant to any from Polish descent!), what are we doing here?” The simple answer was quite obvious: get an education. But if I ask the same question today, what is my answer?
This morning started in PRAYER, asking God for the answer—always a good place to begin! As several “purposes” were sent my way in God-directed thoughts, one came to the top of the list: Tom, my husband. My foremost purpose in life is taking care of him. So, I made his breakfast and chatted with him before he headed out the door to the men’s prayer meeting. MISSIONS ACCOMPLISHED! PURPOSE FULFILLED!
There are other missions I will accomplish today and those actions, which range from the mundane tasks of hanging out the laundry, trimming the hosta plants, and perhaps even cutting grass and stacking wood, to the more meaningful tasks of calling a hurting friend, preparing a piano offertory for tomorrow’s service, or writing a blog, all bring purpose and meaning to life.
HOWEVER, through it all, an overarching purpose colors everything a believer does with true purpose and meaning and that is this…
Therefore, whether you eat or drink,
or whatever you do,
do all to the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31
So, my attitude and heart have been adjusted! The ache has been replaced by purposeful action, and there is now a peace in my heart that was not there earlier! We are SO BLESSED to be children of the most high God! He longs to lead us in a straight path—one that leads to eternal peace and joy—a path that can begin today!
Beyond Common Sense 