It's Not About Me … It's About Him ... A Life of Purpose!

Buzz, buzz, buzz. There went the alarm again, another day of work, the grind, people to meet, places to be, work to do. I could smell the aroma of sausage being cooked in the kitchen, hmm it smells good.

I hit the alarm to get in a few extra winks. "Get up, get up,” my mom would say. “You'll be late for work." Yeah, yeah, late for work, who cares, just another day."

I was 25 years old and living at home. I had moved back to "find myself" and to pay off some debt.  Even though I had received Christ as my Savior in college and spent several years serving him, through one reason or another, I would stop attending church and fall back into poor habits resulting from poor choices. I would end up in debt with no real direction for my life.

However, even though I was at the worse place I had ever been in my life, I knew God had not forgotten me and that he wanted me back, but back for what? I was so embarrassed at some of the choices I had made. From sinful relationships, to how I used my money, to how I had treated my friends to even my relationship with my parents. I had a hard time believing God would want to use me.

It wasn't long before I found a good job as a graphic designer. However, I still wasn't in church so my parents started praying for me to find a Bible-teaching church, one where I could find people my own age. A church that would not only minister to me, but would allow me to serve based on where I was in my walk with God. They prayed that I would find direction with my life, purpose.

Through a customer of mine from work, I found out about a singles ministry called SOLO (Singles Offering Life to Others). SOLO was sponsored by a local church and represented single adults of all ages and backgrounds who may or may not have attended that church. Its purpose was to connect and grow singles adults for Christ. I was so excited to find SOLO and make some new friends. However, it would be months before I truly became a part of the ministry, the team and its purpose. It would take that long to believe God could use me.

One day, a leader told me about their annual conference they were planning and how they were in need of some help. Because they knew I was a graphic designer, they asked me if I would be interested in creating the banner for the conference. I liked the idea of creating something that would be seen by a lot of people. This could be good for design business. It also sort of made me feel valued among this new group of single adults. Then the leader asked me something I wasn't expecting: "Oh, and besides doing the banner, we need you to attend the weekly team meetings that will last for the next eleven months."

"Eleven months and weekly meetings for one banner?" They also told me that I would have homework as they had devotions each week. I could not believe that in order to do this banner I would have to attend a weekly meeting, do a devotion and help plan a conference where I only had one small part. I didn't know it at the time, but everything they were doing was strategic and intentional. Everything they were doing related to God's purpose for my life.