Why were we created? What is our purpose in life? Is it the same for everyone or is it different for different people? These are some of life’s biggest questions. Philosophers have tried to answer these questions for centuries. What is the point in this life? Are we just here to live, try not to get in too much trouble, and die, or is there more to it?

Growing up in the Church, I know the answers I’m supposed to have to these questions. I have the Sunday School answers down pat. But if I’m being real, I don’t think we should ever stop pondering these things, and I have found myself at a point in life, where I am asking these things again. I am in a time of transition, where hope seems lost in some areas, and I wonder what is my purpose? Why was I created? I have been thinking and praying a lot about this over the last few weeks.

Most of my life I’ve said that I have been created to be a wife and mother. The desire within me to help nurture a family in faith and to raise children to know and love Jesus felt like purpose. This hope has been deferred before and seemed to be lost again a couple of weeks ago. I knew God was directing me to make a difficult decision of saying goodbye to a relationship that was not His desire for the season of life He has me in. So I stood before God, once again, begging the Lord to show me my purpose. Why am I on this earth at this point in eternity?

Yet again, God was faithful. He flooded my memory with truth and used conversations with people who love Him, to remind me that I am here for a reason. I was created for a purpose. God uses me and uses others for seasons in life. Some seasons last longer than others, but there is purpose in all God does. We don’t always realize that an important moment is happening, but if we allow the Spirit to guide us and trust His plan, lives can be changed.

A season of purpose may be as quick as a hug or a smile that encourages someone, it may be your whole life, it may be an eternity, or somewhere in-between. I pray that God uses my time in this recent relationship in both of our lives, that conversations that were had become beneficial to us in the future. I pray for change in the other person’s life and in mine as I walk with the Lord into this next season. 

Whether it’s a relationship with a family member, a job, or stepping away from a community of people who have been beneficial in your life for over a decade. When you’re walking with the Lord, He uses moments of transition to bring Him glory and to help us all live out the purpose for which we were created. The benefit of these seasons, if done correctly goes both ways. Both parties hopefully draw closer to the Lord and see more of His goodness.

These moments happen more than we think about or even know, God can use these moments of interactions with people even in the seemingly mundane or unspiritual encounters.

One day I got a phone call from a former coworker who had made it clear that he was not interested in discussing spiritual things, I was caught off-guard. It had been a couple of years since I had seen or spoken to him. He called because his sister had started attending a church in town and though he made it clear that he still wanted nothing to do with that life, he said he trusted me and wanted to make sure that it was a good church that she was attending. There was something about the season we spent working together that God used in his life to show that I could be trusted. 

Ultimately, we are created for an eternal season of giving glory to the Lord. Why not start that now and live as if we believe it? I am moving forward, trying to trust in His purpose for me, instead of my own purposes, whatever comes my way. It’s easier said than done some days, but I know it will be worth it. I pray that He continues to use the short and long seasons in my life and in yours to draw people to Himself and change lives to bring Him glory.

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Karly Grant is a 30-something, single, enneagram 9, follower of Jesus who likes to keep life entertaining and real. The circumstances of the last few years of her life have held many twists and turns, but she can’t wait to see where God leads.  She has a heart for adoption and is waiting to see where the Lord guides her on this path. She can often be found in a coffee shop, curled up with a good book, or spending quality time laughing and having fun with her family and friends.