Current events have a lot of people pretty freaked out. The uncertainty of what the future holds has others tailspinning into bouts of depression. It very well might be the case that after this you find yourself with a significant decrease in earnings or in the worst case, unemployed. And if we get to that point, what the heck are you going to do?
Whilst the world is calling for people to be innovative, take this to stretch their entrepreneurial minds, increase their skill sets to add to their value, find a side hustle... I'm going to take a different route. I'm going to encourage you to dig deep and do some self reflection, consider this a time you can possibly reposition yourself in preparation for what you were actually created for.
As a Christian I believe that every single person on this earth is a gift, and given the way each person was created so expertly and so intentionally, the gifts and talents bestowed upon us didn't come by accident. We have all had strategically placed in us everything we need not just to exist but to live a fulfilling and purposeful life. But there's a catch, we need not only to acknowledge these gifts, talents and passions but we also need to fan them into flame (1 Timothy 4:14-15).
"By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you" - 2 Timothy 1:14
This makes me think of the parable of the talents. For the longest time I read and understood it only from a monetary perspective, what do I do with the money that I have? Then one day it struck me that there was more to it, surely it couldn't just be about money. As we go about our lives, besides His provision in monetary terms, God gives us lots of different gifts and talents (abilities). What do we do with these? Chipo chako chekubika, chekusona, chekutaura nevanwe zvakanaka, chekuimba, cheaccounting, chekudzidzisa, unochishandisa here, uye unochishandisa kuita sei? Do these gifts ever leave the area of potential? Do they ever help others or serve others besides ourselves?
With that being said, I view myself as a teacher. I love to share what I know with others, I love helping people see things from new perspectives and discover who they are and all they are called to be. So a few weeks into the lockdown, after much procrastination throughout the year, I put off waiting for someone to hold my hand and I started a mentoring programme for young women. It's a little restrained at the moment because well social distancing but never the less we are (my friend and I) working with what we have and getting somewhere.
For the past two weeks we've been on the topic of personal branding, passion and purpose. Asking these young women to think around their current positioning in relation to these two. Whilst it has come out that some are quite on the ball with a clear vision of where they are heading others lack self awareness or at the very least are stuck in a place where they feel they are unable to harness their gifts and live out their passions because they are unconventional or won't make them money or just sound plain silly. Essentially it all comes down to one thing, fear! And I think there are many people in the world who are sitting in this very same boat. Sometimes we don't even notice when we are oppressed by our own fears and the world's perceptions that we have internalised. We relegate ourselves to that "there's nothing I can do. I just need to make ends meet so let me follow this career path". But that's a lie, there is something you can do.
"Fatalism in the guise of docility is the fruit of an historical and sociological situation, not an essential characteristic of people's behaviour. It almost always is related to the power of destiny or fate or fortune - inevitable forces - or to a distorted view of God" - Paulo Freire
Reality isn't just an objective space we must exist in, reality is both objective and subjective meaning we have the opportunity to begin to change things in our lives if only we could become aware of this. Now not to say this would be easy, no. It may be down right scary, but I'd like to encourage you today. Dust off that passion, those talents and abilities that you felt you had to lay down by the wayside. I'm not saying get up and quit your job today but I am saying refuse to neglect gifts and passions, step out in faith towards your future and see what happens, God may just surprise you! Every good thing (talents and gifts included!) come from him and can be used for a bigger purpose than we could ever imagine.
Still unsure about all this? Try these guys for a little more encouragement.
Louie Giglio, Sermon Title "Whatever" https://youtu.be/cYLJXDPsjik
Mark Batterson: The Wild Goose Chase (book)
Additionally I'd be happy to share other resources on passion, purpose and stepping out!
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