Sometimes it’s hard to see joy ahead. Right now it seems as though every which way I turn, people are hurting. Whether through illness, oppression, job loss, trauma, betrayal, invisibility, misrepresentation, relationship breakdown, or loss of purpose, people are enduring trials.
The enemy of our souls is hell-bent on stealing, killing, and destroying God’s people. He thrives on division and ruin. He wants you isolated.
You are not alone
You are not alone. This hardship you face is real. It is arduous. It brings pain that must be felt and acknowledged. There must be grief. But you do not have to bear it by yourself.
Almost a month ago I asked the question “So now what?” as I wrote about my business helping me flesh out my life call. At that time I was keenly aware that my Young Living journey is a gift that God has given me to help me let JOY loose in people’s lives. I see it in myself, my customers, my running mates and my builders. Such an unexpected gift! (If you haven’t read about that journey, I’d encourage you to click here before reading on. Or if you’ve been looking for an entrepreneurial vehicle in the realm of wellness, with crazy good personal development and an amazing community to help you pursue your life purpose, I’d encourage you to click here so we can connect directly!)
Even in the last few weeks since I wrote that post I’ve been discovering more about how to step into my purpose. And I’ve become more mindful that a lot of people I know can’t actually articulate their life purpose, and don’t know how to move into it with their families, vocations, or future plans.
What is your life purpose?
On a scale from 1 (I have no idea) to 5 (I know it and I’m pursuing it!), where do you stand in relation to articulating your life call or life purpose?
⭐
Rating: 1 out of 5.
Persist and Imagine
For the last few years, I’ve started the year by establishing words I felt drawn to for that calendar year. These words would be a lens of sorts that I would choose to view life through. In 2017 AND 2018, that word was JOY. In 2017 I was fighting for it, in 2018 I started finding it. And then in 2019 my word became HAPPY.
When the calendar turned to 2020, I had a massive shift and couldn’t get away from twowords for this year: Persist and Imagine. I didn’t know necessarily what those might mean, but they were as clearly dropped into my heart and mind as an Amazon package left on my doorstep. They even rang the doorbell.
Well, how to persist became evident fairly quickly, both as a pandemic took over the globe, and as my parents’ health rapidly declined and I was unable to be with them to help. Not only that, but as our family joined millions of others with a main source of income suddenly lost, persisting became normal quickly:
Praying for my family and others
Intentionally keeping relationships alive
Staying focused on helping a church ministry shift
Choosing to rejoice when negativity was so rampant
Choosing to establish and maintain healthy habits in quarantine
Diligently working on my business to try to make up some financial discrepancies we faced.
Prayerfully entertaining opportunities, conversations, and suggestions about what we are to do next.
For us, like many of you, this season has been marked by persistence.
So how about imagining?
Sometimes it is easy to get lost in a head-down, push-through rhythm. Persisting holds less dreaming and more “get it done.” I definitely felt like that by early May. It was draining, and sucking the life out of me. I realized I needed to create space to lift my head and be more of a hummingbird than a hamster. I was going to need to listen, not speak. Nourishment and renewal became a craving.
And that is when the dream started to open up. Imagine had told me that dreaming was on the horizon in 2020. But when the year slammed in like a monsoon instead of a gentle tide, I couldn’t even imagine imagining!
But as I purposefully unplugged, and spent time listening, resting, and quieting my soul, my imagination began to come alive. It was slow. Kind of vague. But nevertheless, the horizon vision started to materialize a little bit. Somehow, persisting had led me by the hand toward imagining. Kind of like God had gone before me to prepare me or something.
My life purpose
I’m currently sitting in the summer breeze, halfway through a 14-day quarantine restriction imposed on us because we crossed a national border. And in this short season of isolation, the dream is becoming clearer. All of a sudden, any limit on dreaming is lifted, and it is like God has spoken that it is time for me to begin to step into purpose. It seems I hear Him best when I’m still.
Surrender your anxiety! Be silent and stop your striving and you will see that I am God. I am the God above all the nations, and I will be exalted throughout the whole earth.
Psalm 46:10 TPT
It thrills me, consumes me, and scares me a little now that He’s removed any lid from my imagining. But while He is allowing me to begin to do some tangible research and brainstorming, He has also been crystallizing for me my history, showing me all the many ways He has been preparing me for this dream. And WOW – things that seemed unrelated to me before are synthesizing into the beautiful training ground for what He is calling me to. (They always had been, I just didn’t realize it.)
Start with acknowledging that deeper longing within you. If I had to take a guess, that’s why you’re here. You can feel it. I don’t even have to define what it is–you know exactly what I’m talking about. It is that “something more to life” rumbling around in your gut, that tug drawing you toward a scary, audacious dream.
Bob Goff, Dream Big
So what about you?
What would I hope you would take away from this small and evolving part of my story? Well, there are a few things:
Consider asking the Lord for an annual guiding word – it’s not too late to redeem 2020!
If you’ve been head-down, consider editing your lifestyle to create space to lift your head.
Look back and look around. What has God done in you? What has He been training you for?
Look inward: what do you LOVE? What are you absolutely passionate about? What are you awesome at? Those will in some way reflect life purpose.
Ask a trusted friend for an honest assessment whether they believe you are inhibited by limiting beliefs or self-talk.
Stay patient. Purpose unfolds.
Read this book:
And finally: When God asks you to take a step, don’t be afraid of it. If He suddenly lifts a lid, trust in His goodness and move forward into it.
Don’t be afraid
God is trustworthy. He created you with purpose for a purpose. He wants you to dream and follow hard after Him into things that will bring you joy and fulfillment, and things that will glorify Himself to others. This is life purpose.
So how are you going to begin to step into your life purpose? Tell us your next step in the comments below!
I wrote “Holding Hands” almost a year ago but it just published today. It’s been a reality I’ve been conscious of and seeking the Lord about for several years, but it seems much more front of mind now than before. I want to be a woman who is keenly aware of and appreciative of people’s uniqueness and value, and shaped by our differences instead of trying to be blind to them. God has made us with such diversity, pointing to His vast creativity and beauty. I think young children can be our very best teachers in this.
Holding Hands
by Elizabeth Rhyno
So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. (Gal. 3:26)
The two looked shyly at each other. But even in their silence it was clear they were learning. They sized each other up, slowly taking it all in. In the bustle of the airport, it seemed as though time stopped for the little pair.
Dad crouched between them and slowly spoke their names, introducing the new brothers to each other for the first time. This was a holy ground moment for this now-expanded family. One after the other, each boy climbed up on their dad’s knees, directly facing each other, and he noticed a shy smile crawl across both faces. Such a contrast in color and clothing, yet already such a similarity in disposition. When black and white fingers slowly intertwined, Dad breathed a prayer of gratitude for the grace of God.
Our faith in Jesus ushers us into a new family, one made of people from every background, color, and language. When we die to ourselves and lean into God’s mercy we are buried in Jesus’ death and raised up with him to new life. And we immediately receive a welcome as God’s sons and daughters. What is it like to receive this family inheritance fully? Perhaps it starts with a childlike willingness to intertwine fingers with a brother or sister who is strikingly different than us. Maybe being clothed with Jesus means fully embracing our brand-new siblings.
Walk like Jesus, openly receiving people and valuing all they are.
Elizabeth Rhyno is a wife, mom, and pastor of relational arts at Waterline [Wesleyan] Church. Elizabeth chooses to pursue the Lord and lean into his heart for community.
