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Life & Spirit Radio For Your Mind, Body and Soul
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What Saith the Scriptures Reginald Young
Finding Purpose in a Season of Change
Life & Spirit Online | Inspiration for the Mind, Body & Soul
Change has a way of showing up whether we are ready for it or not.
A career ends. Children grow up. A relationship changes. We move to a new city. Our health changes. A door we expected to remain open suddenly closes. Sometimes we even accomplish something we have worked toward for years, only to find ourselves wondering, “What now?”
Seasons change.
And when they do, it can be easy to mistake the end of one chapter for the end of our purpose.
It isn’t.
Sometimes change is exactly where purpose begins to reveal itself.
When Life Doesn’t Look Like It Used To
Most of us become comfortable with the roles we play.
We know what is expected of us. We develop routines. We become someone’s parent, spouse, employee, business owner, caregiver, pastor, teacher, leader or provider.
Those roles can become such a significant part of our identity that when circumstances change, we may begin questioning who we are.
But here’s something worth remembering:
Your role and your purpose are not necessarily the same thing.
A job is a role.
A title is a role.
A position is a role.
Purpose goes deeper.
You may lose a position without losing your ability to lead. You may retire from a career without retiring your wisdom. Your children may no longer need you in the same way, but your ability to nurture and guide others hasn’t disappeared.
What you have learned, survived and experienced may actually become the foundation for what comes next.
Don’t Rush to Fill the Empty Space
One of the hardest parts of change is the space between what was and what will be.
We don’t always know what’s next.
And we don’t particularly like that.
Our instinct is often to fill the empty space immediately. Find another job. Start another project. Make another commitment. Do something so we can feel productive again.
But every empty space doesn’t need to be filled immediately.
Sometimes we need time to listen.
Ask yourself:
What is this season trying to teach me?
What matters to me now that didn’t matter as much ten years ago?
What have I learned that could help someone else?
What have I always wanted to do but kept postponing?
Who could benefit from the person I’ve become?
Those questions can lead somewhere surprising.
Your Experiences May Be Pointing Toward Your Purpose
We often think purpose has to be something enormous.
It doesn’t.
Purpose isn’t always standing on a stage before thousands of people.
Sometimes purpose is helping one person avoid a mistake you made twenty years ago.
Sometimes it’s mentoring a young person.
Starting a business.
Writing a book.
Caring for a family member.
Teaching.
Volunteering.
Creating something.
Returning to school.
Serving your community.
Sharing your story.
Or simply becoming more intentional about how you treat the people around you.
There are lessons inside your life that someone else hasn’t learned yet.
Your difficult seasons taught you something.
Your successes taught you something.
Your failures definitely taught you something.
Don’t dismiss those experiences simply because they happened in the past.
Your past may contain some of the tools required for your next assignment.
Give Yourself Permission to Change
There is another challenge that comes with discovering new purpose.
Sometimes other people still see the old version of you.
They remember who you were.
What you used to do.
How you used to think.
And occasionally, without intending to, they can make you feel as though you have to remain that person forever.
You don’t.
Growth requires change.
You are allowed to develop new interests. You are allowed to pursue something different. You are allowed to discover abilities you didn’t know you had. You are allowed to decide that something that once mattered deeply to you no longer belongs at the center of your life.
That isn’t necessarily abandoning your past.
It may simply mean you’re growing beyond it.
Faith in the Middle of Uncertainty
For people of faith, seasons of change can also challenge us spiritually.
It’s much easier to trust God when we understand the plan.
The real test often comes when we don’t.
There are moments when faith means moving forward without having every answer.
It means believing that a closed door doesn’t mean every door is closed.
It means understanding that a delay isn’t necessarily a denial.
It means trusting that even when we can’t see the entire road ahead, we can still take the next step.
Purpose is often discovered that way.
Not through one giant revelation, but through a series of small, faithful steps.
Start With What You Have
You don’t have to completely reinvent your life tomorrow morning.
Start where you are.
Call someone you’ve been thinking about encouraging.
Volunteer for something meaningful.
Take the class.
Write the first page.
Research the idea.
Have the conversation.
Reconnect with your faith.
Pick up the instrument again.
Apply for the opportunity.
Share something you’ve learned.
Start walking toward the thing that keeps pulling at your heart.
Purpose often becomes clearer through movement.
You don’t need to see mile 100 when you’re standing at mile one.
You just need enough courage to take the next step.
You’re Still Becoming
At Life and Spirit Online, we believe some of life’s most powerful stories come from people who refused to believe their best chapter was behind them.
That’s one reason we’re committed to creating and sharing positive programming that feeds the mind, body and soul.
Through Life and Spirit TV, Life and Spirit Radio, podcasts, inspiring broadcasters, interviews, educational programming, music and uplifting stories, we’re building a media destination where people can find encouragement, information and inspiration for the lives they’re living right now.
Because the world gives us plenty of reasons to focus on what’s wrong.
Life and Spirit Online exists to remind you of what’s still possible.
We want you to meet people who overcame.
Hear from people who built something meaningful.
Learn from people willing to share what life taught them.
Discover music and programming that lifts your spirit.
And encounter ideas that might cause you to see your own life differently.
That’s what positive media should do.
It shouldn’t simply occupy your time.
It should leave you better than it found you.
This May Be Your Season
If you’re experiencing a season of change right now, don’t automatically assume you’ve lost something.
You may be making room for something.
Your age doesn’t disqualify you.
Your past doesn’t disqualify you.
Starting over doesn’t disqualify you.
And not knowing exactly what comes next certainly doesn’t disqualify you.
You are still learning.
Still growing.
Still becoming.
And there may be someone you haven’t met yet who will need the wisdom you’re gaining right now.
So don’t be afraid of the next chapter.
Turn the page.
Your purpose may be waiting on the other side.
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