If I could go back 20 years and have a chat with my younger self about life and ministry as a global worker, I would emphasize that her sole purpose is being satisfied in God, not evangelizing, starting, and establishing a new church or raising her children perfectly in the faith. I would encourage her to focus on finding pleasure in God instead of focusing on doing ministry and parenting the “right” way. These life pursuits are important, but they would tempt to distract her from the main purpose God desires for her, which is satisfaction, contentment, and joy in Him alone. Prioritizing this purpose is what ultimately feeds into and sustains all her other pursuits. I so wish I could tell her that. 

Thankfully today, I am learning to lean into this purpose. Who knows? Maybe this is something only age and maturity could help me do, to realize and prioritize my life’s purpose in pursuing complete satisfaction in God. As I work on church committees these days, I can practice resting in my satisfaction in God to help combat feelings of inadequacy when others challenge my ideas. And while I watch our teenage children wrestle with the secular thinking of the culture around us, I can pursue joy in the Lord to help me love them well in their doubts and struggles and without feeling like I’ve failed in discipling them in God’s truths. 

As my preacher husband says, we must keep the main thing the main thing, and the main thing is enjoying God forever and bringing Him glory (taken from the Westminster Shorter Catechism first question/statement). John Piper states it this way: “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” I want this to be my daily purpose in life, to be satisfied in God so that He is glorified. Parenting with Christ-like love and developing church ministries with grace will be by-products of this purpose, along with many other gospel driven pursuits. And because our Father is infinitely incomprehensible, I can spend eternity seeking this main thing. It’s a purpose that never perishes!