Finding the purpose in our stories

Sometimes I have to see a movie more than once before I get some of the messages in the story. "Alice in Wonderland" is an example of that. I don't know whether it was the fact that, having seen it once, I was focused on the narrative more the second time or whether it was just because the idea of purpose was on my mind, but I was drawn to the scene where Alice finally realizes who she is, what her purpose is, and what she should be doing. It's inspiring to see someone find their purpose because that is what we all strive for.

Alice spent many years repressing that little voice inside that called for her to step out and do great things. She tried to live her life to please her mother and others, and that led to her giving into the fear that turns conflict into failure.

Donald Miller wrote a book about story. He said that story is "A Character Who Wants Something and Has to Overcome Conflict to Get It." We're all living a story, we all have wants, and we all face conflict. But when we put our eyes on the things God wants for us, and when we lean on his strength, we can overcome that conflict and find the purpose in our lives.

I see this as happening in two ways. First, the way we respond to conflict in our lives defines our character. There is a lot of pressure on us when we are young and growing up to know who we are going to be, what we are going to do, and how we are going to get there. Sometimes you figure all those things out in high school, make them happen, and you're happily living the purpose God has for your life. And that's great. Sometimes, however, we diverge from that path.

When I graduated from high school I thought I had it all figured out. Now 11 years later, I am happy with my life and I see that I am on a path God has for me, but I've taken the long way to get there and it looks a lot different from when I started. There were plenty of bumps along that road, and it was how I responded to those bumps that defined my journey. There were times when I felt hurt, confused, and was ready to give up, but I didn't. And now I see all those things were a necessary part of my journey.

The second thing that comes to mind when I think of purpose is that we all get a call from God, and he gives us the tools to answer that call, we just have to accept it. The Bible is full of stories of people who got a call from God and, even though they might have felt ill-equipped, they accepted the call, moved forward, and God worked through them.

I like the scene where Alice is talking to the caterpillar, and he tells her the sword knows what it needs to do, she just has to pick it up and use it. I think God works like that in our lives. He knows what he wants to do, we just have to let him work through us. And when we do that, we can find a joy and completeness for our journey.