Tag Archives: Purpose

Cookie Cuts

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Recently I had the privilege of participating in the “live and local” program in corroboration with the Sydney Writers Festival, The Lighthouse, and TRC. Joined by fellow authors, Nola Lorraine and Jessica Kate, we were invited to speak on the topic of “considering a faith-based life from an author’s perspective”. We also got to sit in on some great live-feed sessions, including with the renowned Trent Dalton.

As I sat listening to Trent’s extraordinary life story, he said something that set off a cracker in my brain. He shared about the moment he realised how incredible his family story was, and how this (very personal) story needed to be told.

In that moment it struck me how readily we take onboard and celebrate other people’s stories, yet seldom do we sit in the honesty and familiarity of our own journey to “here and now”, and allow ourselves to truly reflect on the key heroes and turning points in that world. None of us are made from a cookie cutter.

I have been, and continue to become, increasingly conscious of the individuality and uniqueness of each person’s journey and our swiftness to dismiss our own story as relevant and impactful. Yet, we are all positioned in this place-in-time for a purpose, making each of our stories extraordinary – whether we realise this, or not.

This raised for me two questions: Who am I? Who are you?

I ask these questions again, encouraging each of us to sit and reflect on the ordinary and familiar (to us), whilst celebrating the heroes that have paved the road to our now. What is our story?

The beautiful reality of humanity and our coexistence, is that each of us carry a voice that is our own, and no matter how loud or influential you (or I) feel our voice is, it is our mandate to not leave that voice unheard.

You and you alone possess your voice, in all its uniqueness, purpose, and power for this moment in time. For I quote: “Truth needs your voice” ~J. Enlow

Don’t let it go unheard.

Puzzling

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PuzzlingPicThe puzzle has been on our table for nearly a week now. Each time I walk past, I see small indicators of progress: a section has been filled out more; various details are becoming clearer. Eventually it will look like the picture on the front of the box, but not yet. More work is needed.

The time required to complete this puzzle is much longer than the previous one we did. Our daughter picked them both, but the first was a small 100 piece puzzle with a bouncy puppy on the front. The boundaries were quite clear, the colours distinctive and the pieces large. Quite different to the muted hues bounding the bottom quarter of our current project, rising into a vivid African landscape.

This work-in-progress also has many more pieces of much smaller size. It is further complicated by being a 3D image, meaning you don’t always see clearly what is printed on the piece until you examine it from a few angles. Even then, it often requires a broader perspective, a step back to examine the bigger picture, before its position is apparent. Once a tentative try is met with a fit, the image suddenly becomes clearer.

Circumstances, even our lives, can feel a bit like a puzzle. It might even seem like things have fragmented and we’re left wondering how the pieces will ever fit back together. Often we want things to work out like that small puzzle: quickly resolved by large, well defined pieces with clear positions. But it’s usually more like a big 3D puzzle.

Sometimes the pieces of life don’t seem to fit or we can start to feel they’re incomplete. Other times it’s like most of our time is spent pressing together weird, muddy–coloured parts that risk eye strain to try and make sense of. It can seem like we’re stuck, making no progress at all. Headache inducing frustration can set in.

But just like that big puzzle, we’re learning. We’re glimpsing fragments of a bigger picture.

Our lives are a work-in-progress and from this we can take heart. Even when the puzzle is at its most confusing, rudimentary state—newly upended from the box (do you know that feeling?!) we can start sifting and grouping, piecing and finding edges to make sense of it.

Just as our 3D puzzle is slowly starting to resemble what it was intended to be, so can we have confidence that if we just keep working, piece-by-piece, the intricate plan for which we were purposed will gradually become clearer.

Wherever you are at in life, don’t give up on those pieces. We each have our own set. Eventually they will resemble the picture from which they were forged—a destiny we can only imagine.

Rug Pull

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Has life taken you on all kinds of unexpected adventures? Sometimes you get time to plan ahead and do what you can to make the distance. Other times you can feel like the rug has been pulled out from under your feet!

Some years ago we had a ‘rug pull’ moment. It was actually a months-long struggle that finally ended with a wham! We were on our rears, reeling to work out a) what had happened, and b) how we could possibly get back up after such a fall.

Although there were definitely some ‘angels’ along the way, beyond a few close family members offers of help were rare. It wasn’t that we didn’t try to explain at times, and I don’t think that people didn’t care, but they didn’t get it and we ran out of energy to try communicating. Survival was the goal.

I’d like to say that the ‘rug pull’ was followed by a swift regather and then we were back on our feet, jogging down the path of life as we knew it. Falling on our ends put a lot of things out of reach. We were in a different position. We couldn’t go back to how things had been – and I believe that this was no accident.

We were forced onto new things; to take a different direction in life.

Now, that new road, it was great, right? Actually, it was really hard and nearly fractured us from the inside out. Some days we wondered why we were doing what we were. We felt so far beyond our coping ability that often it was like we were existing, not living. But at least we were going somewhere, albeit slowly.

Although we tumbled down some crater-like potholes along the way, gradually (and I do mean gradually!) a new purpose was revealed, and it was exciting. What had seemed to be an end, proved to be a new beginning and eventually we were able to reflect back on the journey and see the good in it; even feel grateful for our unexpected diversion. Our vision for the future also grew so much larger than we’d ever thought it could be.

The fact is we all face rug pull days or seasons. Perhaps our story strikes a chord for you. Perhaps your world has been turned on its head and you don’t know what to do. Rug pull moments aren’t pretty. They bruise and shake us to the core. BUT if we do what we still can, have faith and hold on, gradually our world will find a new equilibrium. In time, doors will open and behind them we’ll find new purpose. Those doors might look like tiny mouse holes at first – maybe nothing like we expected them to look – but at the end of the long, dim, obstacle infested road, there will be an end. Actually, a new beginning.

No matter where you are in life, whether you’ve landed tail down or are soaring with eagles, pray, never give up, and never stop reaching forward. Even if it feels like you’ve completely lost your way, put one foot after the other until you see some light ahead – for every tunnel has an end. And that’s where the scary unknown gets exciting.

Post-rug pull we’ll never be the same again, but we’ll be facing a new landscape with untold possibilities. The future. Embrace it.