on purpose.

Sometimes I don't have much to write about, but I feel like I need to write something, just so this blog doesn't fade away into the technological void, where millions of small, sometimes meaningless other posts sit waiting to be read. I want it to have a purpose, you know? And if that purpose merely means it's a place for me to write and vent and scribble and figure things out, then so be it. It has a purpose.

My mom once told me that I live my life with purpose. She was going through some of my old preschool things a few weeks ago, and she found a progress report from one of my teachers. This teacher wrote something along the lines of "Alexa has a purpose every day. She has a determination to do whatever she wants to do." Who knew, at 3 years old it's possible to live with a purpose?

Since then I've thought a lot about that little word, "purpose." What does it really mean? Obviously I know that I have a reason for being here. My religion provides me with a purpose. I know I'm here to be tried and tested and hopefully return to live with my Heavenly Father again. I know that someday I'll have a purpose as a wife and a mother, and I'm looking forward to those days like you wouldn't believe. 

But, is our purpose always the same, or is it situational? Is it dependent only on where we are at any given moment in our lives? For example, two weeks ago I was called to be a Relief Society president in my ward, a calling I definitely didn't see coming. And along with that call came all sorts of emotions: panic, fear, excitement, nervousness, etc. I know it'll be a great experience, and it ended up being an answer to prayers. For a while I considered moving this summer, but getting that call seemed to be Heavenly Father's way of telling me, "not yet." So is my purpose right now to be a leader to the women in my ward? I won't be in this position forever, so obviously my purpose will change, right?

I don't think our lives have one specific purpose. I think our purpose is changing all the time. For the last few years my purpose was to receive a college education. I did, and that purpose has now ended. When I'm a mom, my purpose will be to raise my kiddies to the best of my ability. 

I think the most important thing is to just have something to live for. It could change all the time, but just have something that keeps you going. One of my favorite quotes about our purpose comes from, ironically, a Starbuck's coffee cup {I promise I was drinking hot chocolate, guys!}. It says:

"You are not an accident. Your parents may not have planned you, but God did. He wanted you alive and created you for a purpose. Focusing on yourself will never reveal your purpose. You were made by God and for God, and until you understand that, life will never make sense. Only in God do we discover our origin, our identity, our meaning, our purpose, our significance, and our destiny." Dr. Rick Warren

Beautiful words, huh? Sometimes I have days where, if I only end up making my bed, I feel like I had a purpose for the day. You've had those days too, right? Good. But I think sometimes that is a-okay. As long as we're doing all we can to put meaning in our lives, I think we'll turn out pretty darn okay.