“Mummy, I want to be a mummy, an artist, a musician, a teacher, a dancer… when I grow up,” the list unending. I laughed, as her brother commented, “You can’t do all that?” pulling his face in that frown that shows his disapproval. She however seemed alarmed that her brother would say that, “Of course I can!” she replied sharply.
Every child will someday wonder what they will become and this got me thinking about the things I wanted to become at that age and to be honest, they are not what I find myself doing now. Come to think of it, how many of us can recall what we thought we would become at seven years old. Research has shown that most people do not end up working with the courses they studied in the university, not to talk of the things we thought we would be at seven.
What then really is the purpose of life? Solomon after searching concluded, vanity upon vanity, all is vanity. Why did he say that? You might wonder. After all the getting and doing, he realized there was still emptiness. How many of you can resonate with that somehow? You thought your getting that promotion will make everything better and more meaningful and somehow it doesn’t seem better. If only I was married, you thought, then, I would be fulfilled. Little did you know that there are more lonely married women than the un-married. A new house surely will do the trick and fill the vacuum, once I clinch that great deal and people begin to hail me everywhere I go, then surely I will feel on top and that has not seemed to help matters too. So what then is the solution?
I have come to realize that searching for meaning in the things that we are doing rather than in being what God has called us to be will never bring us fulfillment. Come to think of it, I have tried all sorts that if I begin to list them you will end up in stitches, so I will spare you the pain but suffice it to say that I am talking out of experience, little wonder that I always ended up frustrated. We are called human “beings” not human “doings”, hence what makes us who we are is not just working and making money or recognition but rather fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives. If and when we get this, we will discover the true meaning of life and somehow I believe we will no longer be working in strife and jealousy because we understand that my purpose is different from yours but not in any way less than yours in importance.
After many years of being the publisher of gemwoman magazine and the many hats that I wear. I can say without a shadow of doubt that it is indeed a great joy to find your purpose and a privilege to be used by God. Indeed, inspite of the ups and downs, I must confess that nothing beats you knowing you are in His will and God has definitely got your back.
So do make a resolve to know what your creator has made you to be, and then tenaciously stick to being it, regardless of its rewards or challenges. It’s in being YOU that you find fulfillment and God’s help that will most definitely be beyond your greatest imagination.