Reaching the top of the hill

A week ago, I turned 40. Don’t know about you, but usually when going into a new decade it can get emotional. Cannot say I was actually looking toward this milestone in my life nor that I was okay with what that it entails. Yet earlier this year, a young girl with whom I share the birthday, got all excited about us dressing alike for our birthdays. I could not say no to that, now could I?! Now I was only looking forward just to see her enjoy herself. Plus I do like getting all dressed up every now and then. Although, if you ask my friends at the Ranch they might say I mostly always do. Didn’t use to be that way, I have no idea how it’s come about that I am now known for being fashionable. It may even be scary for some of you who have known me for over 20 years. In any case, I decided to enter this new decade with a bang. 😀 Okay, I’ll stop blabbering.

A day or two prior to my birthday, a friend made a comment that got me thinking. She said that I had much to show for my 40 years. It struck me, because it was not even three years ago when I dreaded turning 40. The reason was that I felt I had nothing to show for it. Unlike many of my dear friends I was not married, much less have children, nor did I have a successful career. I was without all the life accomplishments the world/culture has as milestones of one’s life. As I would look back, I really had nothing to show for it. Not that I had lived an aimless life, it had just so happened that my life had gone a different path than that of most of my friends.

As I considered my friend’s comment and realized that I no longer felt like I had before, it made me start asking myself what had changed. Because technically, nothing in my life had changed in regards to the things that I thought were life accomplishments. I am still single, no children, no career that would be considered successfully ambitious. Yet, now I did feel accomplished. I felt I did have things to show for it. I may not be able to showcase it at this moment but there is that hope that in the future it will bear fruit.

So, what’s different now? I found that the key difference is that I was where God had called me to and doing what He had designed me to do. What a difference it makes! I may not be as thrilled to be entering my 40s, but I am grateful and looking forward to what God will accomplish as I head down this so-called hill.

I do not know how you are feeling in regards to your life thus far, maybe you are where I used to be. Dreading the years and feeling you have nothing of what you had envisioned you’d accomplish by now. Or maybe you have achieved and gotten everything you have set your mind to. What I have learned is that there is no greater accomplishment then to be obedient to our Heavenly Father’s calling and His purposes for your life. Anything one can accomplish in this world, no matter how grandiose, pales in comparison to fulfilling God’s destiny in your life. Granted, I may never experience what it is to accomplish anything newsworthy, but I am satisfied in knowing God sees and rejoices with me, even in the little things I do. And how glorious is it to have the assurance that despite my failings, He is a loving Father that will not only correct but whom delights in His children.

Therefore, if you are feeling unsatisfied with where you are at, maybe it is a good time to evaluate if you are where God would have you. I understand that sometimes we do go through rough patches, and God does have to take us through some journeys at times to get us ready for what He has for us next. But in a world that constantly draws us and imposes its own agenda on our lives we have to be watchful that we are truly pursuing what God would call us to pursue. If you are going through a time where God is preparing, I want to encourage you to not lose hope. You may not get all the things you may desire, but when you allow God to work in your heart and follow Him to where He calls, you will find true fulfillment. And it will be an unwavering fulfillment because it is only found in Him and His purposes.