How to Know Your Divine Purpose: The Process of Becoming who God Called you to Be

A few months ago I received an email from a young lady who reached out to me after reading an article I’d written that spoke to some things she’d been dealing with.  Since then, I’ve adopted her as my little sister, and had the amazing privilege of helping her to give her heart to Christ.  She’s a young college student eager to discover her true purpose, and in her quest to learn who she is in Christ and what His plans are for her life, she recently asked me a question I thought I’d openly address.

She asked, “Could you share your personal testimony of how you came to discover your purpose and knew that being a writer was what you always wanted to do?”

Well, being a writer isn’t what I always wanted to do.  In fact, I never envisioned it at all.  I actually had dreams of becoming a nurse or psychologist, because I loved helping others feel better and was intrigued by the human mind.  Fresh out of high school, I enrolled in a local community college to pursue a degree in psychology.  At the time, I didn’t quite have my head on straight and I ended up throwing away my scholarship, and decided to chase love instead.  Silly me!

After a few years of wandering aimlessly through my early twenties and trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, I endeavored to become a nurse, but soon realized that was not the profession for me. There I was, back at square one with no clue of the career choice I should make.  Totally lost when it came to what I’d be professionally, purpose had never really crossed my mind.

It wasn’t until about seven years ago when I took a job as a church administrative assistant that I discovered the natural ability I possessed to write, and I loved it. I wrote a few things here and there, but still, being a writer never crossed my mind. 

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The Power of His Presence; Conquering Great Challenges through a Greater God

It had become my nightly routine.  After my family was all settled for the night, I’d curl up on my comfy sofa with a soft blanket, Lifetime Movie Network, and my favorite bottle of wine or other alcoholic beverage.  I’d pour glass after glass, either until the bottle was empty or the nagging thoughts in my mind ceased.  

During that time in my life, I was stressed and depressed.  I was battling internal struggles, my marriage was rocky, and my mom was near death.  I felt overwhelmed by the issues of life, and in my unstable mind, the headache from a hangover was more appealing than dealing with the headache of facing my problems.  

Alcohol had become my best friend.  It was there for me during my lowest moments, always made me feel better, and provided me the perfect escape from the cares of life.  Not only that, but it was soothing and I was swept away by the numbing effect it offered.   When I drank, I didn’t have to feel.  Like a blanket of security, it shielded me from the pain that tormented my heart and mind.  I felt free whenever I was under its influence.

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The Power of Releasing Blame: How Taking Ownership Changed My Life

“If she’d never met and married Bobby Brown, she would have never gotten on those drugs” I heard a young lady say from a few lanes over as I stood in line at the grocery store.  She was having a rather loud conversation with another lady standing in line with her, who responded “I know that’s right. It’s a shame that he got her on that stuff, and now she’s dead.”  

Though many people across the world share the same feelings as these two women, I thought about how easy it is to pass the blame to others for the choices we make.  But Whitney Houston's good friend BeBe Winans told CNN's Piers Morgan, "No one is to blame." Although there is power in persuasion; association brings about assimilation; birds of a feather flock together; and environment leads to entanglement, at the end of the day we all must make our own choices.

This was a lesson I learned after many years of mistakes and heartaches.

In my lost years – the time I spent doing my own thing – I found it much easier to pass the blame for the shameful, sinful, silly things I did.  My target was my biological father.

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