Purpose

If you follow any of the other Blogs linked to this site, you may have read one in the past couple of days concerning living a life that has purpose. This subject has been on my mind for quite some time.

You see, I've made a big mistake and become friends with some teachers and preachers. The mistake comes from the fact that it has caused me to question what purpose and impact my work has beyond making money for other people. Is anyone better off today because of my work?

Without dragging this out, let me say that I want to do something bolder with my life, something that has impact, and of course pays the bills. In concentrating on a career with a purpose, I've failed to recognize that there are other ways for me to add meaning and purpose to my life. For two years I've been passionate about my running and last year I was given the opportunity to start up a running group at my church. This was something I had thought and talked about doing for nearly a year. I was pumped. Unfortunately, after the initial start up, I became complacent about things, content with the small number of friends who joined me for runs once per month. While I cherish these runs and the fellowship and friendships, my original vision was for a larger group of area Christians meeting monthly to fellowship and run together.

Now I've been approached about expanding the group to include walkers. While this was part of my original intent, my passion is running, and the folks who first joined up wanted to run, so the group gravitated in that direction, and in my complacency, that is where it remains.

There will be some logistical issues with expanding. Finding someone who will help with the walking side of things. If I expand the number of runners, how do we integrate runners of different skill and conditioning levels into group runs? Questions have answers, you just have to look for them. More importantly you have to want to look for them

I've come to the conclusion that we are each provided with opportunities to make an impact and to serve a purpose, the real question is, "Will we make the best of those opportunities?" I'm going to try to make this opportunity count. I've got some ideas bouncing around in my head and I'm excited about the prospect of getting more Christians involved in fitness and fellowship. Help me out and pray that God will grant me the fortitude to see this through. If we don't expand the group any further, it will not be a failure, but if the group remains the same size, I want it to be because God's will is fulfilled, not because I failed to take advantage of an opportunity he presented me with.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (King James Version)
1To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

Matthew 9:37 (New International Version)
37Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.