Purpose

I read an article recently on ESPN.com about a retired female tennis player who's had a hard time with life since she's retired from the sport. She was a child tennis prodigy who won numerous big tournaments in her day... Tennis is all she's ever known... Now that she's retired, she's been asking her friends "Without tennis, who am I?"

My heart was moved with compassion for her as I continued to read the article...

A lot of women ask themselves "Who am I?" It's a common question that all people ask themselves and it usually is associated with a "Without such and such" added to the beginning... "Without my boyfriend, who am I?" "Without my husband, who am I?" "My children are off at school. Without them, who am I?"

I can totally relate to how this tennis player feels...

I was not a pro child prodigy tennis player but I did play sports from the time I was a young child... For 11 years of my life, being an athlete defined who I was and in a lot of ways, it was my identity. Finally, my senior year of college came... I gruadated from college and I could no longer call myself an athlete... I no longer carried that title with me... It was quite a shock to my system... Softball was the one thing in my life that I really excelled at... I had confidence in my abilities and in a lot of ways, it felt like I had worth because of it. It was the one thing I could count on. Who was I without it??

I will be honest with you... It bummed me out for a few years - it didn't make me suicidal like this tennis player but it was a struggle nonetheless... I felt like I was no longer good at anything... I had no title, I was working a warehouse manufacturing job that was not exciting, and I really just had a hard time adjusting to life after college in general. Finally I had to ask, "Lord, who am I?" It was during this season of my life that I really sought the Lord for purpose and really drew closer to His heart than I ever had before. I realized very quickly (cause God will show you quickly if you're willing to seek Him) that I would only feel fulfilled and have purpose in this life if I figured out who I was in Christ. And that all began with knowing who God is... Knowing His character, His true nature... Setting my eyes on Him and who He is and is in me... This took my eyes off of myself and what I felt like I had lacked...

I'm still learning more and more about His loving nature and who I am in Him... There are days and times in life where I really have to take a moment and pause and get back to "OK Lord, remind me who I am in You again cause this situation just totally bummed me out." I've experienced the broken heart of a relationship that didn't work - a love that no longer loved me back - but in the end, I was found still standing because of the Lord and who I am in Him... The more you know the character and heart of God, the more quickly you bounce back from things that would like to devestate and flatten you.

There are so many women asking themselves "Who am I?" So many women in Boulder... So many lost souls that are depressed, downtrodden, devestated by life and the situations they are faced with daily... And you might say, "Well, honestly, I've been asking myself that question for quite some time myself." Be encouraged... God's got the answer for you! He is soo faithful!! As you seek the Lord for your purpose and as you seek to know who He is and who you are in Him, you'll quickly realize that your life will begin to take the shape He's designed for it to take... And I encourage you (even if you're not sure what your purpose is right now) to encourage both believers and non-believers to seek the Lord for their purpose... Being found "In Him" will change your world and it will change their's as well...

The Justice Project is all about sharing the love of the Lord with those around us... Sharing with other's who our God is, both in word and deed... It's our desire not to focus on us (our issues, what we're lacking, etc) but to focus on those around us... To reach out and love on the lost, destitute, downtrodden, hopeless... As we do this, we believe that God will pour into us those things that we are lacking... So essentially, pour out knowing that God is going to pour into us everything that we need to serve Him and those around us... To pour out and be filled up once again... If you don't know what your purpose is in this life, help another find there's... As you do this, God will reveal His purpose for your life to you... He will take you to new heights in Him...

May His love touch the retired tennis player, the fatherless, the homeless, the business woman, the lost... May our purpose be found in Him... For He is more than enough...