Purpose

I have been thinking about purpose. Yesterday on Facebook Mary Ellen Ciganovich gave a great talk about purpose. (If you did not catch it then go to her facebook page and listen to Miracles with Mary Ellen excellent talk.) I agree with what she is saying. Having a purpose has not left my mind. I have pondered for a few weeks on what happens when people lose sight of their purpose. I believe everyone has a purpose in life. We might struggle with finding it, or might find it and say no way can I do that, or that is no really a gift everyone can do it. I have known for years my gifts are teaching, public speaking and writing. That does not mean I have always done those things. I have also been known to point out other people's gifts or purpose and encourage them to embrace them, while I push mine aside. This past month I had an awakening to what can happen when you lose sight of your purpose or push your gift aside as not important. I would like to tell you everything that happened but you might not want to sit for hours listening to me rabble and that I could. We could cry, laugh and over cyber space hug each other. That is the kind of sad story this really is. I have chosen to share a part of my visit to Ohio to visit a sick sister.
I got a call from an older sister a few weeks ago now telling me my younger sister was very ill. She was in the hospital and they were not sure what was going to happen. My sisters' voice caused everything in me to panic. It was a Sunday night so when I got off the phone I talked to Steve about it. At that point we was not sure what I should do. The next day my sister called back and it even sounded less hopeful. I called Steve to tell him, he prayed, we hung up the phone and went about our day. By the time he got home from work my insides had reached a level of freaking out. Yes I was praying about what I should do, but I must admit I still worried. I felt the thing I needed to do was to fly to Ohio. My husband came home with the same conclusion. Within two days I was sitting in my older sisters' house. After visiting with her a short while, we started for the hospital. I had no idea what to expect. My little sister had been starving herself to death, she now weighed eighty pounds, she was only a shell of the woman she use to be. My heart sank, she didn't recognize me. After I told her who I was we hugged again and cried. I was told she had onset of dementia. It broke my heart. As I spent more time with her reliving many things, we laughed, cried and hugged. She was not eating and did not even seem to care to eat. She kept saying to me she just wanted to sleep and not wake up. I began to force feed her, she opened her mouth to complain I put food in it. I told her every time she opened her mouth that is what was going to happen and it did. After a little while she just made faces at me instead of talking. The next time food came she was ok with me feeding her. After she was able to eat, she began to do a little better. A few days later they transferred her to a nursing home. As she felt better she began to talk about going home. The nurses and workers at the nursing home treated her good. She began to feel like she mattered to someone. I could see hope returning to her. She would smile, joke and laugh with little effort. I kept trying to think of something that would give her mind something to think about. What did she enjoy then it came to me quilting. Quilting has been her passion for many years I pulled up Pinterest on my phone and showed her some quilts. I kept saying that looks so hard. Her eyes lit up to just look at what one time she would do for hours. Then she assured me that's easy. To my eyes not any of them looked easy. We talked about quilting for a long while I asked questions, she answered. Her passion once again was burning in her heart. As she looked at these beautiful quilts she was not even able to sit up in a chair let alone sew. But as I write this she is doing better and my older sister plans on taking her home with her someday to see if again she can do what she loves, quilt.
I say this is remind you to keep pursuing your passion then you will find your purpose. My sister allowed others to dictate to her that she was not worth anything. That her passion was now of no value. She lost sight of the fact that she has a purpose in life. She has regained that I believe, but now she is too sick to work to her fullest on her passion. Do not allow a thief to come into your life and steal what you love. If you allow a robber to do that they will also take your hope. Surround yourself with positive encouraging people, they will not rob you.
I came home with the determination not to allow that to happen to me. I also was losing sight of what my gifts are, what my purpose in life is. It was a wakeup call for me, as I hope it is for you. If you have lost sight of your purpose or have not found it yet keep looking. Keep doing the thing that you are passionate about. Do not let anyone rob you of the joy of your gifts. Not everyone will understand or even think you are good at it but remember they are not living your life. You are the only one that can fill your spot in life. Life is too short to allow someone to cheat you out of the blessing in store for you as you live in your purpose. Have a great day living you passion and purpose.