By Michelle Barringer

Your purpose is a big deal – do you know what it is?

If you ever feel like you’re missing out on something important in life, like you’re supposed to be doing something more, and you don’t know what that something is, there’s a reason. Jesus made each one of us with a unique calling, a specific purpose for him.

Wanting Something More

Around ten years old, I started writing letters to my Texan cousin. I loved writing. 

When I entered seventh grade, my cheerleading career began. I loved cheering others on.

As a teenager, English became my favorite class. I loved diagramming sentences. Go ahead, call me a grammar geek.

Fast forward to my mid-thirties, married and mom of three children. I loved my family. Yet, I felt something missing in my life.

Often, my husband would remind me I had him. That alone “should” be enough, right?

He also reminded me we had three children. What more could I want? How could my life have more purpose than being a wife and mom?

I felt guilty. Why wasn’t being married and having children enough for me? Trying to remedy this guilt, I poured more of myself into them. Still, deep inside I felt my family wasn’t my only purpose. 

There was something more I was supposed to do.

We Are Created for Purpose

Our purpose is a big deal.

In fact, Jesus took great intentionality when he created us. We are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). We are his workmanship. 

We were created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do for him (Ephesians 2:10). This is why our purpose is a big deal.

Simply put, Jesus created you for purpose in Him and for Him. He’s excited about your life and your purpose. Jesus wants you to be excited too. Your life is all for Him.

And there’s more — He wants you to pursue the unique way He designed you to fulfill this purpose because there’s something unique you bring to this world and something only you can do. It’s been given to you by Jesus to do for him.

Discovering Your Unique Design to Fulfill Your Purpose

First, cultivate your relationship with Jesus. We can’t pursue our purpose without pursuing Jesus. This means you need to:

• Read his word (I recommend 1 Corinthians 12).
• Ask Jesus “How have you designed me to fulfill this purpose?”
• Converse with Jesus, but don’t do all the talking.
• Listen to him to hear his answers.

Second, take assessments. I’ve taken many assessments to help me know myself. Here are some of my favorites:

• Spiritual Gifts assessment: Each believer has been given at least one spiritual gift (1 Corinthians 12:4-7). Lifeway Spiritual Gifts Assessment Tools can help you discover more about your spiritual gifts. My top three spiritual gifts include Encouraging, Faith and Teaching.
• Personality assessment:  John Trent’s Four Animal Personality Test is easy to understand. The Enneagram is more complex, but worth the effort. You can find more information at the Enneagram Institute. By the way, I’m an otter and a 7w8.
• Talent assessment:  CliftonStrengths (formally StrengthsFinder) helps us discover our natural talents (what we do best), and then we learn how to develop our greatest talents into strengths. I believe so strongly in this assessment, I became a Gallup-certified Strengths Coach. My Top Five Talents are Positivity, Learner, Woo, Communication and Responsibility.

Third, get mentored, coached and counseled. All of us need others to help us understand who we are, what we are good at and where we have weaknesses. We need others to help us discover our purpose.

Since Jesus intentionally invested in us, we should be willing to invest too. After all, our purpose is a big deal.

Want to dive deeper into your purpose? Join us in the A Wife Like Me Collective, here.

Wife Step: Choose one of the tips above to start discovering the unique way God designed you to make Him known.