31 Days of Living with Purpose {day 5 ~ ordinary purpose}

Growing up in the country is an awesome memory for me. It was a much quieter time. My brother, sister and I played outside making dirt pies, dressing our cats up in doll clothes, riding bikes on dirt roads, swinging so high “we could see Jesus”, and drinking from a water hose. Those are precious memories that flood my mind. Mom and Dad were there and we never lacked for anything.


While my childhood was fantastic somehow the “father of lies” snuck in my conscience at a very young age and I doubted myself. I never felt good or adequate enough for any one thing. I hated standing out. I would bow my head in hopes the teacher surely wouldn’t single me out for an answer or a favor. I felt so ordinary. I couldn’t stand my hair. I didn’t like my weight, my clothes, my grades, or anything else that was me.


I carried those feelings around for decades. Clear into the years of me having children. Finally God snatched me up and began showing me what He could do with the ordinary, if I’d let him. I began to take special notice of ordinary things and events, especially pertaining to the stories of the Bible. My heart just sang as God’s word revealed over and over how He uses the ordinary. 


Ordinary sticks become staffs that parted the waters. Ordinary fishermen become fishers of men. An ordinary towel became a servant’s cloth in Jesus’ hand. The ordinary was useable – rocks, aprons, basins, keys, coins, and even bread. Ordinary people were on every page – the young, the old, the rich, the beautiful, the barren, the poor, the carpenters and the tax collectors. Ordinary men became apostles. The stories are countless. 


My heart began to open up to the fact that I was an ordinary girl, so just maybe God could do something through me too.


If you’re feeling like your lost in this world and have no “purpose” because you are  ordinary, I want to encourage you to realize you have such a significant purpose. You might think your seeking for purpose and meaning is useless.

But I’m here to tell you . . . your purpose might elude you at the moment, but it is there. It might be you are the next ordinary person that God is looking for to bless others through.


As we go through the rest of our month we’ll look at more specific ways to hear and discern that precious purpose you are so longing for.