003 Woman on a MISSION

What’s my purpose? 

How many times have you sat in a grocery store parking lot and asked yourself that question?

Or in an elevator on the way up to the 18th floor of a medical building?

Or pulling into your driveway at the end of an excruciatingly long day? 

Maybe you've had this thought run through your head the moment your eyes crack open in the morning?

What IS your purpose?

• Is it wrapped up in your career? 
• Your job title?
• You children?
• Your social label, as it relates to other people - wife, daughter, friend?
• Your sports team membership or your role at a university?

It's an important question, to be sure.

I prefer MISSION over purpose…and here’s why:

I think our purpose is built in by our Creator and our mission is something we choose to pursue.

More on that in a moment.

I majored in theatre and broadcasting when I was in college. I went to Hollywood to be an actress at one point...but that's a story for another time. I absolutely love movies or tv series; especially ones that I can binge on a rainy afternoon and get lost in the drama and suspense of it all. 

A recent favorite? Lioness: Special Ops, starring Zoe Saldana and Nicole Kidman, on Paramount+ tv. It's gritty and real.

I’m a major fan. MAJOR. 

I’m married to a Navy guy who was an intelligence professional for the west coast SEAL teams, so I’m a little more familiar with that world than your average gal. I’ve heard a lot of stories and my husband is quick to point out the BS in story-lines or prop handling of absolutely every military-themed production we consume. He's a pretty harsh critic and rightly so.

These military dramas unfold rather quickly. 

Once the door gets kicked in, things move pretty FAST.

The actual execution of a major military mission unfolds in all of 2-5 minutes (in my extensive Hollywood movie watching experience), accompanied by explosions, copious gunfire and oftentimes collateral damage...all in the blink of an eye.

The planning and preparation process of the entire team often takes years prior to the event.

Once the mission is defined, every choice that’s made in moving toward that goal is with the end result in mind.

Every. Single. Choice. 

Can you have multiple missions? Sub-missions, if you will (there’s a loaded statement!)

Your primary mission and the multiple pillars of that mission?…in the various roles you embody: speaker, accountant, teacher, chef, architect, wife, mother, doctor, judge, woman, etc?

Yes.

It is my belief that our primary mission should guide the decision making and actions of every other mission or role we take on. 

If our one precious life doesn’t qualify as a special operation, I don’t know what does. And it should take years of planning and preparation for the ideal execution, if we’re lucky. 

"Your mission...should you choose to accept it..." Any Tom Cruise fans? The IMF stands for Impossible Mission Force; impossible for anyone other than these special operators. What impossible missions do you currently face?

My primary mission? Get to God. 

How do I do that? Through Jesus.

Is it easy? No.

Is it simple? Yes. 

The planning and preparation is arduous, daily and totally on me.

The grace and mercy are freely given by Jesus and I can't do a single thing to earn it.

It costs everything and nothing - all at the same time.

I know about a teaspoon’s worth of scripture and I fail daily at being the Christian that I think I’m supposed to be. My faith journey is a bit like the childhood game of Chutes and Ladders…but, it’s in the process of seeking Him that I grow, learn and evolve as a person.

And every decision in my life simply must roll up to that one. My life literally depends on it.

Shouldn’t we all try to be better people than we were yesterday?

That’s a worthy pursuit for anyone, regardless of where you sit on the faith spectrum. 

This Week’s Challenge:

Can you identify your primary mission in this one wild, precious life?

What are the secondary missions in your life (think about the things you spend the most amount of time actually doing?)

Are they aligned?

What would you change if anything?

What is keeping you from making that change?

Unless we change our perspective, nothing around us changes - least of all, us.

What needs to change that you can control? I’d really love to know…

Resolutely yours,

Kristie