Finding Your Purpose

I’ve been to three concerts over the past few months and ended up leaving each one thinking the same thing: I can’t imagine how it must feel for the artist on stage to look out at the crowd and know they brought people from so many different walks of life, backgrounds, and mindsets together to celebrate their passion. They’re able to make people who wouldn’t usually give each other the time of day enjoy being together, all because they pursued the purpose they felt called to. This ability to cultivate joy by sharing our gifts is something I believe we all have. Our version of a crowd may be a little different, but the outcome is just as significant.

When I started my first semester in college, I dismissed art as a career path because it didn’t seem impactful compared to something like teaching or nursing. I put these expectations on myself from the beginning that what I did had to be extraordinary for it to matter. After ignoring one of the purposes God had tried to make clear to me, I reached the end of the semester feeling defeated because of my inability to commit to a major I thought would be important enough to make a difference. I was fortunate enough to be given one more chance to follow the direction God had mapped out on the very last day of my freshman advising class.

I had given up on making a decision, and to be completely honest, zoned out the remainder of the class by drawing on the attendance sheet. When we were getting up to leave, my advisor asked who drew the ECU logo on the sheet and suggested I try graphic design. As someone who previously went to a small school with limited electives and had no clue what graphic design was, I was surprisingly quick to declare it as my concentration and join the school of art. The only explanation I have for saying yes to something so unfamiliar after months of running away from it was acceptance that what I was able to give could be used for good, even if I wasn’t sure how yet. Eight years later, I’m designing things that bring people joy in surprising ways.

We were created with unique talents, desires, and ambitions that have the potential to make a positive impact in this world. Bob Goff summed it up perfectly when he said, “We won’t be distracted by comparison if we are captivated with purpose.” I think every one of us has multiple purposes to fulfill throughout our lifetime, and that we’re capable of doing so when we start acknowledging our gifts as exceptional rather than insignificant in comparison to others. You never know when your willingness to say yes to uncertainty could be moving you towards something remarkable. Take a chance on yourself and be ready for the crowd God brings.

–Chloë