I remember when my husband and I first moved to Idaho to follow the Lord, the second sermon our pastor gave was, Do You Know Your Purpose In Life? As I sat there listening, tears were burning in my eyes. I had no idea what my purpose was. As I was leaving the sanctuary, my eyes swollen from crying, I said to the pastor, “I don’t believe I have a purpose.” He embraced me gently and whispered in my ear, “We all have a purpose. You need to focus on God and ask Him.” For years I would ask myself, “What are my talents? What do I want to be? Where do I see myself five, ten, twenty years from now?” I wanted to be a singer, an actress, a teacher, a writer, a motivational speaker, a businesswoman. I took the direction of a teacher since that just felt natural. From the time I was a young girl, I would often come home from school, line up all my stuffed animals and dolls and play school, so it was no surprise to my family that I chose special education as a career right out of high school. But I felt there was more. After thirty years working with the special needs population, I wanted something more. Again I began to ask myself, “What do I want to do? What are my gifts? What is my purpose?” I soon learned that focusing on myself would never reveal my life’s purpose. “In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind”~ Job 12:10. I remember reading Rick Warren’s book, “The Purpose Driven Life” years ago. I recall a passage that said, I was made by God for God. Only God knows what He designed me for. It was time to turn my attention to the Original Owners Manual, The Bible. I found Ephesians 1:11-12 that says, “In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory.” (NIV). That verse made me realize that I WAS created for a reason. I wasn’t an accident. God did give me a special gift and I had been doing it from the time I was a child. I referenced the bible once again and discovered Proverbs 22:6 “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” I pondered the question, “How many students have I made a difference in their life/ future? I will never really know the answer, but that really isn’t the question I should be asking. How many students have made a difference in my life/future?” The answer of course is, all of them.
Years have gone by since the days of teaching in public schools with students having special needs. I have grown and matured in God, and now my focus is to help people understand God’s purpose in their lives. I still enjoy teaching and work in a private school. I have taught a children’s bible study group in our church and enjoy bringing Bible stories to life for the younger ones that are just beginning their journey. I give all the glory to God for shedding light on the true gift He’d blessed me with so many years ago. A gift I took for granted because it came so natural to me, that I never realized just how I had made a difference in the life of a child.
As Christians, it’s often easy to spot Satan in the world. Anytime we hear of a shooting, domestic abuse, sex trafficking, kidnapping corruption and a host of other events we know the evil in the world is Satan doing what Satan does best. Whether you call him Satan, Lucifer, or the devil, he’s a beast with even more faces than he has names. You may have on your armor of God, but be aware that Satan can masquerade as anyone or anything just to lure you in to his trap.
I wasn’t always a follower of Jesus Christ. In fact, I only identified as a Christian growing up in the same way you identify as an American. When I hit my 20’s, my mother passed away. That was when I turned away from God, Christianity and Jesus. I just didn’t understand why God would take my mother from me when He had taken my father only a year after my birth. I decided that religions were for weak people that needed a crutch to get through the day. Growing up in Oregon, a very secular state, I found my lack of belief was part of the majority. many years later, my older sister introduced me to Ernest Holmes teaching of the new age religion, Science of Mind. I liked that church because it didn’t have any rules. I wasn’t being told I was a sinner and I was going to hell if I didn’t believe in Jesus. Another decade went by and I met my now husband who was a Christian. He never pushed me or tried to convert me. We would often have deep conversations where he would just “plant the seeds” and make me curious about Christianity. I have to admit, I really didn’t know all that much about it. I tried reading the bible, but it never made sense and it just seemed too, “Out There.” I had grown into an adult who enjoyed research and cross referencing information. It wasn’t until I went to see The Passion of The Christ that my life was changed forever. That was my turning point. That was when I began trying to prove to myself that Christ was our savior. I wanted to know everything there was to know about Jesus and answer those questions most people ask when they truly don’t want to accept Christianity.