What I was made for

Have you ever been doing something and thought to yourself, “This … THIS … is what I was made for!”? 

I have heard this phenomenon described in different ways:

 

The thing that makes you feel most alive. 

Or, when finished doing it you think to yourself, “Now, I could depart in peace.“ 

Or it is something you can get so immersed in, you lose all sense of time, and all awareness of anything other than what you are doing.

 

This experience is difficult to describe, cannot be orchestrated, and may be more mysterious than we will ever understand. That being said, there are some observations that can be made from the descriptions given. 

 

Three things that seem to be common in descriptions of this experience are:

 

1. It’s something I’m good at, it’s an area that I am gifted in, I’m proficient in it. This is the result of natural gifting AND hard-work development of that gifting and natural talent.

 

2. It’s something I’m passionate about, I love to do it, there’s something that draws me to it that I cannot describe. Maybe it’s the result, like an artist who loves to see the final product of their creativity. Or maybe it’s the process itself, like a cook that loves to pull together all the right ingredients in the kitchen and create the perfect dish, but once it’s done, he likes to move on to the next recipe. Or maybe a combination of both the process and the final product that you love so much, but the passion is real! 

 

3. It’s also something that other people enjoy, appreciate, or benefit from in some way. Even if that benefit or positive impact is several steps removed. Again, it may be like the chef that finishes the plating, and the waiter takes the plate to the guest. Even if that chef is focused on the next dish, a part of her knows at the end of the day- people were fed and nourished by what she created. A computer programmer that writes a beautiful piece of code, recognizes that part of the beauty of that code is that it will help someone accomplish a task faster, more efficiently, and with less errors than they did before. Even though the programer may never see the end user. 

 

Last Thursday, our Life Group served the community by hosting a game night for the residents of an apartment complex. They brought food, set up the community room, greeted the guests, ran the games, served the snacks, engaged in conversations, gave out prizes, and also handed our groceries from the local food bank. All of this was the result of weeks of planning and preparation, coordinating with the volunteers, assigning tasks, explaining our goals, making phone calls, working with the Food Bank, working with the apartment management, and promoting the event to the residents.

 

If you know me pretty well, then you know that I love parties- hanging out with friends, making new friends, eating food, playing games, goofing off, getting to know each other, and laughing together- these are all things I thoroughly enjoy. I’m also fairly decent at organizing and promoting events. Bringing together the different pieces of the puzzle, and watching them come together. And I love seeing people enjoy and benefit from the games, food, atmosphere, and community that is created by having a party. 

 

So Thursday, as the pasty was coming together and taking place, I was in that mysterious zone. That intersection of what I am good at, what I enjoy, and what benefits others. I felt like I was doing the very thing that God made me for.

 

I am so thankful for my Life Group, and for their willingness to be involved in this ministry with me. I am so thankful for my work as an apartment chaplain, and the doors God has opened for me to do this work. I am so thankful for my wife, who is so supportive and serves along with me and helps in so many ways. I and I hope that you too, have those times when you get to experience that feeling of … “This … THIS … is what I was made for!”