Who I Was Made to Be

It has recently dawned on me the depth to which I am- we all are- filled with purpose. Being that I am a college student, I often swing back and forth about what I want to do with my life, and I'm sure I'll never fully know or decide. However, I am discovering that the Lord did not design me with the purpose of me to solely do- God designed me to BE. First and foremost, He wants me to shape my character into one that reflects Him and His beauty, kindness, unconditional love, patience, righteous anger, passion, and forgiveness. I was created to be someone who possesses these qualities, and only with a character that is a reflection of His, can I do any good to the world. I need to focus my energy into becoming WHO God wants me to be, not WHAT. That being said, I feel a great amount of intense emotion when I consider a life of service to my Lord. I often dreamt of a quiet life with a family, isolated but dedicated to the Lord's work- but now I feel that God has much more in store for me. I know with all my heart that my Father rejoices in giving me the desires of my heart, and I know that He will continue to bless me richly throughout my life. I trust that I will live a life with no regrets, because He has created me to do something great. It may not be remarkable in the eyes of the world- I may end up poor, sick, alone, unemployed, but I am guaranteed to be in a position to bless others and further the Kingdom. To our God, that is the greatest life's work!
Tonight at my college-age small group, we watched a video from the 2010 Passion Conference. Andy Stanley was the speaker, and his topic for the evening was prioritizing character over accomplishments in life. He said that our goals in life should reflect (as morbid as it may potentially sound) what we would want said of us at our funeral someday. This was so inspiring to me! I never considered how accurately it would match God's desires for our character. I would like to be described as loving, giving, honest, pure of heart, and as a great daughter, mother, wife, and most importantly, representative of Christ. He also spoke on how and why these traits are important: not simply because God has asked them of us, but also because they will pave the way for a better relationship with God, as well as with others. For instance, without honesty, we cannot have any sort of loving relationship or friendship. It would be virtually impossible. Equally so in regards to purity- without it, we could not have intimacy. As Andy spoke tonight, I realized what my true goals in life are: to become someone loving, giving, honest, pure, and a great daughter, mother, etc, etc. I may now receive the permission God has granted all of us to stop focusing on what happens to us and where we will be in our lives, and to instead turn our attentions toward having a heart like Jesus'. That's it! No other responsibilities! We are set free from everything else. I now understand that if I devote myself to having a good and godly character, I can fulfill my purpose in life and I will be lead to do great things only through my change in character. Thank you Jesus for this freedom! And thank you that you have opened up the possibility for us to be like You!

"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, 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, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, 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." - 2 Peter 1:3-8