All Is Grace

in the past three weeks, i have challenged my kids to think pretty deeply about who they are. what they like. what they love. who they want to be some day.  i have encouraged them to dream. picture their lives 5 years from now. 10 years from now. think about the people they know whom they admire. this will be a process that continues and changes over the next three or four (or more) years for each of them, and i recognize that. i don’t expect them to come up with deep, philosophical ideas right out of the gate (though some of that has definitely happened). the reality is they’re 11, 13, and 14 (they’ll all tell you “not for long!!”). the world is a blank canvas stretched in front of them…and i want them to be able to splatter and paint and stamp and draw and dance all over it. right now…i want them to think broad. not narrow. and even though that may look unfocused to the casual observer…it’s pretty awesome to watch from the inside…where i am.

i love this vantage point.

i spent some time reading yesterday…which is this crazy phenomenon that takes place more and more frequently as my kids get older and more independent…you moms with littlies may be shaking your heads and wondering what on earth i’m talking about.

i remember. i do. keep your head up, Momma. someday, you’ll want them to ask for Where the Wild Things Are just one more time.

the book is Altar Ego (Craig Groeshel) and in his conversation about “becoming who God says you are,” he makes this great point (among others): “If you don’t know the purpose of your life, all you can do is misuse it. Whether through waste or selfishness, your ignorance will have you squandering the masterpiece of God that is you. Life with no purpose is time without meaning. When you don’t know the purpose of your life, everything you do is just an experiment. You just try on one thing after another, always hoping that the next shiny thing that catches your attention will finally be the one thing that makes a difference…You are God’s masterpiece. Wouldn’t it make sense to ask God what you should do with your life?”

two weeks ago, i sat in the morning service in student ministries during which one of their pastors talked about this topic. she spoke about seeking out God’s calling on your life…really, she reiterated Mr. Groeshel’s words…but i felt like the kids walked away knowing they needed to figure out their calling…and no real idea a) what that means or b) how to do that. my three students verified this in our later conversation.

and for the past three weeks i’ve been telling those same three students, “right now is your opportunity to figure out your calling…decide what you love.”

and haven’t had them really put that in the perspective of God’s ultimate “calling” on their lives.

and haven’t really talked about what that means for them.

or even had them pose the question to God.

i mean, let’s be honest…most of us do “the next shiny thing that catches [our] attention.” and that’s ok while we’re just looking around for ideas. but how many of us know how to weigh that shiny thing against God’s ultimate plan? what tools do we use to figure out what that is? and let’s dig in, a little bit, to the fact that there are people who argue (in stark contrast to Mr. Groeschel and even Rick Warren–remember him?) that “God’s ultimate plan” for us is really the great commission. he doesn’t care how we do it, as long as we do it.  love him, love others, teach others to love him. everything else…the way we actually do that…is frosting. (i’m not actually sure i buy into that because if that was the case, why would he have bothered giving us all different giftings and passions…to use in different ways and to ultimately reach different people?)

so i guess what i’m really getting at, here, is a question: how DO you seek God’s plan for your life? your career? your personal goals? how do i encourage my children to seek God’s plan for them? and i don’t intend to tell my children “just get on your knees and pray, and God will give you an answer.” there are very few times in my life where God gave me an actual, verbal answer when i asked him a direct question. very, very few.

like…one.

prayer is invaluable. prayer over time is critical. but learning to hear God’s voice when you’re listening for verbal words and not necessarily hearing them…that’s another skill altogether.

when we pursue our interests, our joys, our passions and talents…are those equivalent to God’s plan for us because he pointed us in that direction? and is one joy or interest equivalent to another where purpose is concerned? can God have more than one plan that is equally good?

i have some more work to do. a lot more, even.