An Oft-Needed Reminder

My glass collection catching the afternoon sun atop my new-old piano

"It's as though we say, 'Yes, I'm all for living the commandments, having a nice family, being a good human being, and serving my fellowman—but now give me something with some real meaning.'" 

(Dean Hughes)

Roughly every five minutes, I find myself coming back to a familiar soul-searching question: What is my purpose? Sometimes I am asking what the overall grand purpose of my life is, but usually I am looking for a divine mission for the present moment in my life, something big and engaging that I can feel satisfied about working towards. At this in-between moment of my life—a moment where I am not a student, not pursuing a grand career, and not yet a mother—it is easy to feel like I'm just marking time, not making much of a difference in the eternal scheme of things.

Reading the above quote, one quiet afternoon last week, gave me pause. Because, my friends, that is me. I am continually looking for that thing with "real" meaning, the thing that will give me something to feel good about, the thing that I can present to my Heavenly Father and to the people around me to say "See, see what I'm accomplishing?"

This is just the last in a string of reminders over the last year or two that what I am is enough. That I don't need to be always working toward some grand overarching "purpose." That living the life that I've been given, quietly and contentedly, is what the Lord wants of me right now. That it is enough to live the commandments, to draw the Spirit into my family and my home, to be a good person, to serve those around me.

What I am—what I do (and what I don't do) is enough for the Lord.

And that means that it is also enough for me.