Finding Purpose

One of my favorite  movies is Ever After. I lived alone in California when it came out, and I went to see it in the theater many times. By myself. I know it's not the best movie ever made, but there's something absolutely charming about it. Between the Cinderella plot and the costumes, I can easily lose myself for a couple hours in that story.

Throughout the movie, Henry (the prince), bemoans his existence and seeks his purpose. It's humorous at times, but when he does finally settle on something he's passionate about, his entire countenance changes. The burden falls from his shoulders, and he's free to woo Drew Barrymore. Life is good, a few other things happen, and they all live happily...Ever After.

What if you know your purpose, but you just can't do anything about it?

Henry is the fictional prince of France, with endless resources at his disposal. Danielle, on the other hand, is a servant in disguise. While Henry can act, Danielle must scheme. While Henry can pursue, Danielle must hide. Yet in the end, Danielle triumphs. She wins the heart of the prince, despite her lowly station, and changes the world.

I think our purpose finds us, regardless of where we are. I didn't want to be a writer. I've said many times here in this blog, my lifetime career goal was to be a stage manager on Broadway. Distractions, sidetracks, and circumstances twist the path of life in new directions, and somehow, we end up where we're supposed to be.

Now that I've found my identity in writing, though, it's all I want to do. I wake up in the morning, wanting to write. I go to bed, wanting to write. A brand new story found me today, and I'd love to get some of that scrawled out. In this season of my life, it's a little more difficult to block out a four or five hour chunk of time. I have to grab it where I can.

If you don't know your purpose, let me encourage you to consider what it may be. Think through the things you're good at and the things you enjoy doing. Is there some cross-over? Once you find it, cling to it. Cultivate it. And use it to bless others.

That's what purpose is for, after all.