No matter what is going on in your life, no matter how difficult it is, or no matter how much it challenges you, God always has a purpose, and what you are going through right now, just might be your defining moment.
Let me share with you my own defining moment that gave me the direction of my true purpose to help you define yours.
This happened 20 years ago. My family stood closely together outside the mausoleum, grieving deeply, as we watched my father enter his final resting place. The sound of that door slamming made me flinch. It was so loud…and final.
That sound is still crystal clear in my memory, as is the sound of my sister’s sobs. They wracked her body as she leaned into me.
Tears streamed down my own face, but at that moment, something uniquely beautiful happened to me – I felt the spirit of my father enter my heart.
It was such a warm and big energy, just like the man who had been my father, and it gave me strength.
It also gave me something more.
My father was a great man and he did great things. When I felt that energy in my heart, I knew at that very moment that God wanted me to carry on my father’s work, but in my own way.
It has taken me the better part of the last 20 years to figure out exactly how I was supposed to do that.
I thought, at first, that it was being a pastor for my community since that's what my dad did, but I felt like there was a piece missing. I knew deep in my soul, that I was meant for something more, but I couldn’t quite figure out what that was, until just a few years ago.
It was then that I experienced my deepest point of darkness and despair. So deep, I wasn’t sure I was going to make it out. And anything I tried to do to find relief fell through.
I was devastated. And broken.
Until I finally let go and surrendered everything to God. I prayed for Him to show me the way out.
He brought me directly to the people who would help me define my purpose, in a fraction of the time it took me to get to my lowest point.
I know now that my life’s mission is to help other people find their divine path and purpose. My work is to help people, no matter how far they are in their journey, realize where they are supposed to go and what they are supposed to do.
Maybe, right now, you are in the same kind of dark place where I was, and I want you to know I am here for you. And so is God, even if it feels like you are alone.
No matter how painful or difficult it may seem, always remember that there is a good and beautiful place waiting for you when the storm has passed through. It may not seem like it, but these moments are preparing you for the wonderful life you are supposed to be living. Defining moments usually arrive just when you feel surrounded by adversity.
Move beyond your pain to learn and grow from it. Because if you can’t take a good rub, how can you ever be a polished gem, sparkling, beautiful, and purposeful? Everything that you have been through does not define you. But the person that you are today was made by HOW you got through everything.
Life can sometimes be difficult and painful, but you can get out of these fearful and painful states like I did and walk more fully in your purpose.