Monday, November 06, 2006

Fumbling towards purpose

Ugh. I feel like there is so much I want to digest, to think about, to work on in my life right now, but I have no time to do it.

I went to young adults at my church tonight for the first time in ages, and was challeneged by a few things the speaker said. Again, no time to get into it (I still have a socials test and a review assignment to make up tonight before bed - check the time! BAH!), but in a nutshell, I was reminded of the importance to live life on purpose. That's been a come and go theme in my life the last few years, but one that I want to be more come, less go. (I've blogged about it at least twice before: here and here)

It's so easy for me to get into a "survival mode" type pattern, paricularly when I'm really busy and/or mentally preoccupied, and I just go through the motions of the things I have to do. I want to have a goal in mind, a purpose by which I direct my life, and then have that purpose in front of me in everything I do. But sometimes it's hard to even verbalize it, let alone have everything I do reflect that goal.

Carving out some time to even think about that seems so hard right now. But I've often learned, usually the hard way, that the more I don't want to do something I know I need to do, the more I really need to do it. Does that even make sense?

In the style of Happy and Blue, today's question is: "Do you have a 'personal mission statement' of sorts? And if you do, what tricks do you use to keep in in mind, to direct what you do, as life rushes past you at the speed of light?"

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well... I try to view the "little things" as contributing to my mission. It's easy to feel like I'm not doing anything because I'm not leading junior high kids to Christ, I'm not volunteering every spare minute at a soup kitchen, I'm not DOING __________. But - I AM making myself available to listen to my coworkers' problems. I AM playing tag with my Little Sister from BBBS. I AM shining MY little light in little ways. And we shouldn't discount those little victories for Christ. They all add up to a personal mission. :-)

That's how I keep on track. I stay on the path, little step by little step.

Nice post, Hillary!

Hillary said...

THanks for that reminder, Sarah. I DO have some overarching goals, things I want to live my life by, I'm jsut trying to make them a little clearer in my day to day, not get so caught up in the everyday crazienss that I forget them.

But you are totally right, a long journey doesn't happen without each little step.

Anonymous said...

Just for the record my questions are much easier to answer. And they aren't multi part..

Like I think everyone wonders at some point in their lives I used to wonder what my purpose was. But at some point it dawned on me that it really wasn't up to me to decide what it was. My only job was to live and see where my life led me..

As you said in your comment focus on the little steps..

Queen Bee said...

Good post and good question(s). I don't think I have a particular mission statement, I just do my best to live as He would have me live, striving to be more like Him in all I do. I fall very very short but by His grace, I get to keep trying.

Paul said...

2 Peter 1:5-8 is a pretty good mission statement:

Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And I agree with Sarah too.

Anonymous said...

I don't know if it is a personal mission statement as much as it is a philosophy? I dunno. Anyway, two sayings that I use a lot immediately came to mind.

#1 - Karma is a boomerang. I truly believe you get back what you give out.

#2 - “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ~ Maya Angelou

The second one is how I was raised. My mom was big on considering others and their feelings in everything I do. My grandparents were like that too. Sometimes it goes too far the other way - by not putting myself (or in my mom's case, herself) in line at all, but it's a good way to be, I think. Too many people in this world are just out for number 1. It's sad.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm, this is a reallytough question and I had to ponder about this for a long time.

I think that we were all given certain talents and gifts for life, things we are good at and that make us special. I believe that there is a purpose behind these gifts even if we do not always see it. I wish I could always live up to this purpose, but the truth is, it often really doesn't work out as well as I wish it would. So, I just try my best to concentrate on what is important to me - one day at a time.

...aaaand if I find a quote somewhere that reflects "my mission" I post it on my bathroom mirror (at least until I have guests over). I know it is silly, but when I wake up in the morning and the first thing I see is the quote next to my face, I'm immediately in a good mood and it makes my day.

Leaning Shanty Farm said...

First, let me just say to Lawn Mower Queen that I LOOOOVED that Maya Angelo Quote...that is one for my quote books!

Second, funnily I have just added a new frame of mind to my life recently...it's not a quote exactly, but here ya go:

Don't let fear stop you from doing the things you want to do.

I have a problem with that...so I'm working on it. My only "trick" when i come across something that scares me is asking myself, "Why does this scare me? And what can I do to get over it?" Then I just DO IT!

Seems I'm using two very commercial quotes for my life right now...

NO FEAR!
Just DO IT!

...hey...whatever works!