Walking on Purpose

My youngest son lives out of town, but when we talk on the phone, our conversations can be light and funny, filled with memes and jokes, or they can be deep. Today was no different, after a few minutes, I asked him if he’s taking advantage of everything life has to offer. I told him that life is like walking down a long street. On each side are little shops, cafés, and boutiques. At every door, you have a choice: to walk past or to step inside.Maybe to your right there’s a coffee shop with the best tea, healthy, refreshing, exactly what you need, but you don’t go in. To your left, a boutique with good clothing at the right price, you need some, but you don’t go in. Down the street, a pharmacy holds something you’ve been looking for, still, you walk by.Many people live life this way. They go to work, watch TV, maybe go to a barbecue now and then, and that’s it. Decades pass, and they reach the end of their lives having missed so much.But what if life was meant to be lived differently, lived with purpose? What if we trade those little shop names for the gifts God already prepared for you? Let's label them grace, love, compassion, wisdom, healing, discernment, prosperity, and character. They are yours, bought at a very high price, with your name written on them. Yet too often, we walk past. We rely only on our own imperfect understanding, ignoring what has already been freely given. In some cultures, it's rude to not acknowledge a gift, but we are being more than rude, ignoring these life-giving gifts, we are being negligent. What if today, we decide to knock on every door? To engage with people, to discover what’s in them for us, and what’s in us for them? To open the gifts waiting for us, and to use them?That’s how we would reach the end of life with joy and peace. Knowing we spoke the words we were meant to speak. We touched the lives we were meant to touch. We sang the songs we were meant to sing. We drew the pictures we were meant to draw.That is a well-lived life. That’s Real Purpose.My friend, it’s time to start knocking on doors.It’s time to walk on purpose!BW