my way home from a wedding in Northern VA when I realized that I had hit the point in my drive where gummy bears were needed. Gummies and a DMD (Diet Mountain Dew)… all of you health nuts out there are probably cringing. I know, it’s so bad but on this particular night I was tired…. really tired. It had been a long week and I had just shot a long wedding. (I will have you know that I have significantly reduced my DMD intake and I’m quite proud of myself!). So I pulled off the Stafford exit to make a quick stop at WAWA, my all time favorite convenience store, and I parked. I walked inside, was tempted by the “fresh” blueberry muffins that we all know have
been sitting there for 8 hours and then made my way to the food section that probably causes cancer. I picked up my DMD and my Harigold gummies and headed to the counter. It was about 11:30pm and a middle aged man in a suit was buying a red bull and a pack a cigarettes. He was obviously a regular because he knew the young cashier by name and joked about this being his 2nd purchase of the day. The teenage cashier looked at the man and said “Long day at the office?”. The tired, energy deprived car salesmen looked at the young boy and replied with a defeated laugh “Yup, and it’s not over yet….I’m old and broke, I have no choice”. The salesmen left and I scooted up to the register, pretending that I hadn’t heard their whole conversation.
The rest of the ride home I thought about that man and ate my tasty gummies. I wondered what his daily life looks like. Does he get up in the morning and feel excited about his work…. does he THRIVE at his job….. does he go home with a peace and satisfaction knowing that me made a difference?? Or does he just walk into work everyday because “He’s old and broke and has no other choice”?. I don’t want to be middle aged and have a mindset like that. Just the thought of that SCARES me! Even if I’m working a job where I just need income, I hope that I can find purpose and meaning in it! Ideally, I want to do what I LOVE… for the rest of my LIFE!! I want to spend my life doing what the Lord has called me to do and somehow mixing that calling with my career! ….. But I wasn’t put on earth to take digital photographs. That’s not my purpose… not even close. I’m not even here to just “enjoy life and be happy”…. that seems nice and I do love enjoying life…. but that’s not my PURPOSE either…. if that was my PURPOSE, then what happens when some days just flat out STINK! What happens when full SEASONS of life stink??! What is my purpose then?
Thankfully my purpose is MUCH greater than any of these things. No matter what my job is, no matter what my schedule is, no matter how easy or hard life is… my purpose remains the same. Matthew 28:19 says “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations”. For those that have never heard this verse before, you’re probably thinking… “Ok, this has officially become weird”. But hear me out… what that verse means is to go and share what you know to be true about your faith so that others can live with the same peace, PURPOSE, and promises that you do. Don’t live solely for yourself…. trust me, there is no satisfaction in that. I don’t know about other Christians, but for me… that takes a LOT of the stress off of my career…. because my success as a small business owner NEVER affects my purpose in life. My business could crumble and while that would be sad and I would be devastated at first… my purpose would NEVER change. So no matter what…. even if I’m 45 and working overtime as a car salesmen… I still have the same purpose. I’m still not defeated because my identity is not in what I do…. it’s in the Lord…… and that SETS YOU FREE.
So now that I’ve officially given you a daily devotional (that was not my intention)… I just want to wish you a HAPPY THURSDAY. Whether you’re doing what you LOVE or just at a job that’s a means to an end…. think about your PURPOSE…. your OVERALL purpose in life. If you’ve never really thought about it until now, there is no time like the present!! Have an amazing weekend with friends and family! There will be a blog post tomorrow but I’m just getting excited about labor day prematurely! haha :)
Ps. Thanks Mal for the pic of me and my little fluffball!!
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Thanks for reading!
— Katelyn
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