You guys!! If you are part of my table you already know what is coming while I am roadtripping through Slovenia. My sweet sweet friend, former flatmate and all around absolutely wonderful person, Melina, is finally a guest here on tableseasons. This has been a long time coming and I am so excited that she is sharing about “Finding your purpose and calling here and now”. She started her podcast “Leben – jetzt und hier” last year and it has been such a blessing and such a help for so many. So I highly recommend going over there to listen to all her episode after you read the blog. So without further ado let’s jump into what Melina hast to say about finding your purpose and calling living in the here and now.
Purpose & Calling
So many people long to answer the question “Why am I here on this earth?”. I believe it’s a super important question and it will sure determine how you live your life, how you make decisions what you say “yes” or “no” to. Why is it then that so many people are still walking around life without a sense of purpose and without a clue on what to do with the 80+ years on planet earth? Since we usually don’t find something like a heavenly scroll on our nightstand one morning with a written out plan for our lives (I’m not gonna lie, there were moments and seasons where I would have loved a clear outline and plan J but I believe life would lose a lot of its wonder…no surprises, no breath-taking moments, no unexpected turn of events…sounds pretty boring if you ask me J) many of us struggle to find our purpose and calling.
Purpose is the WHY, the big picture. And calling is the WHAT, the specifics (like what job to take, what spouse to choose, what city to move to, etc.). We can’t understand calling without understanding purpose.
So let me give you a few thoughts on how to discover or rather uncover both the WHY and the WHAT.
I am a person of faith and I believe in the God of the Bible, the amazing Creator of the Universe. And I believe that He is the One who wanted you and I to know Him personally and to enjoy closeness with Him for all of eternity! (Yes, I believe there is more than the “here and now”, and yet it’s my conviction that how we navigate the “here and now” will greatly affect everything that is to come, including eternity.) And that’s why He made you, why He made me. In the Bible, God’s love letter to us, His operation manual for fulfilled living (note here that I didn’t say “happy” living, sometimes fulfillment doesn’t look super happy but it sure is way more meaningful and lasting) He clearly shows us that He IS love and that He wants us to experience this love and to share this love with the world around us:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
How to start
So let’s start here. Let’s work on this first before trying to find some big fancy dream or reach some big sparkling goal. Let’s make this our purpose. If this is our filter for making decisions and interacting with others, then we need to follow up with some questions like: WHO do you already have in your life that you need to love (better)? Are you a friend, son/daughter, mom/dad, sister/brother, co-worker/boss, neighbor/classmate, etc.? Who might be in front of you that you need to serve? Secondly, WHAT do you already have in your hands, meaning what are some things you are currently doing that you might need to view as tools to serve others? Are you good at cooking/baking, are you technically inclined? Do you enjoy working with your hands, building things? Are you talented at cleaning, or you love to create beautiful environments for others to come and rest and get refreshed? What are some things or people groups you are passionate about?
Use your talents, what is in your hands (calling) to accomplish what is in God’s heart (purpose) and then go and throw kindness around like confetti at the world around you! Try some stuff, get creative, allow yourself to fail and learn from it. There is no perfect way of doing this, just take one step at a time and learn to love people well.
There is so much more that you DO know about your calling and purpose than what you do not know. Get busy doing what you already know and you will know what to do.
Peace, Melina
Wow, isn’t that amazing! Thank you Melina for your encouragement to just start with the lense of purpose, the lense of loving God! And then, just starting where you are and with what is in your hands. This is so encouraging. Friends, why don’t we show Melina some love by leaving a comment below. And as a little reminder you can find her Podcast anywhere you listen to Podcasts here. You can also find Melina on Instagram here.
Much love
Ramona
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