The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why. —-Mark Twain
I believe that each of us have a purpose on this earth. There’s that kid who becomes a cardiologist who saves both famous and ordinary folks. There’s the child with a vivid imagination who writes a beloved book. There’s that little person who becomes a great leader who guides a nation through difficult times.
Most of us lead much more ordinary lives, but what we do with our talents is just as important. The nice neighbor who looks out for the elderly couple and brings soup when someone is sick has found her purpose. She knows why she is here and what she has to do. She nurtures and loves with every fiber of her being. She is a rock on which countless depend.
We too often discount the gifts that people give the world. We laud those who have achieved what we deem to be greatness but neglect to notice the simple efforts of people who keep our world running effectively. We take so much for granted until we can’t. When a hurricane blew through our city we suddenly realized how essential the workers who repaired the power lines were to our well being. They worked for weeks in ninety degree weather in twelve hour shifts. We cheered them when they entered our neighborhoods. It felt as though they had been sent to us according to a vast eternal plan.
Some people seem to always know what they were meant to be. My brother announced at the age of five that he wanted to be a mathematician who would help to send rockets into space. He never deviated from that goal. With multiple advanced degrees he used his brilliance to design the navigational system for the International Space Station. I on the other hand struggled to understand why I was born. I went back and forth deciding on a career and finally felt that I was settling on being a teacher.
Time and experience has a magical way of revealing our true destiny. After a few years of struggling a bit, I found myself enchanted with teaching mathematics to mostly underserved students. While I felt as though I had stumbled into my situation, I soon realized that I had actually found the reason why I was born. I still get goosebumps thinking of the moment when I just knew that I was supposed to be exactly where I was. From that moment forward, even in difficult times, my life as a teacher felt like a perfect fit for who I am.
Sadly I have known many men and women who never quite discovered that wonderful day when of finding out why they were born. I suspect that the evidence was there but they did not see it. Sometimes the reason for existence may seem insignificant when in fact it is powerfully impactful in someone’s life.
When my mother first showed frightening signs of her bipolar disorder I was twenty years old and unfamiliar with such things. I reached out to many adults for help but most of them were as confused about what to do as I was. Eventually our family doctor recommended a psychiatrist who in turn told me how to get my mother admitted to a hospital for care. The trick was getting her to agree to go there. That’s when a kind woman who was my mother’s best friend courageously helped me even thought she understood that it might undermine her friendship with my mom.
Together we successfully got my mother the medical care that she needed but it did indeed fracture the once beautiful relationship that the two women had enjoyed. The love and sacrifice that my mother’s friend demonstrated was surely at least part of the reason why she was born. Without her Mama would have deteriorated to a point of hopelessness. Instead she became well again. I know for a fact that I would not have been able to get the job done by myself. I will forever have a special place in my heart for this lovely woman’s unselfish act of true compassion and love.
I do believe that there is indeed a reason why each of us is born. Each and every person is special and has a gift to give the world. It is a wonderous feeling when you discover what that is for you.
All It Takes Is A Little Love 