When I was a kid, one of my punishments was being sent to my room. At first, I hated the isolation, but after a while, I made the best of the situation. I’d read, organize my baseball cards, tinker on the piano, or build something with Legos. In the end, the punishment became something I could deal with and almost looked forward to.
Like naps. As a child, naps were straight from the Devil himself. I despised naps and fought my parents the entire way. Why would I lay down for a nap? There were so many adventures waiting for me in the backyard.
It’s ironic that the things we once dreaded or considered punishments are actually life goals to aspire to as adults. I’d love to be sent to my room for the rest of the day with only my bed and books as a solace. Or have my employer force me to take a nap everyday whether I needed it or not. I would even be glad to eat all the vegetables on my plate and then ask for seconds.
One of the scariest parts of high school and college was public speaking. It honestly felt like a punishment. No matter how well-written the speech or familiar the topic, public speaking freaked me out.
As I drove home from a meeting today, the thoughts of all the things I once considered punishment ran through my mind. Isolation. Naps. Vegetables. Public speaking. I laughed while I conversed with God. My afternoon had been a huge blessing and my heart was filled to the brim. And what was my meeting? I will be leading a women’s conference in a neighboring town and I met with the small group leaders to encourage and train them on how to be most effective at the conference.
My teenage self would be horrified at the direction my life has taken. But my forty-three-year-old self is so excited I can hardly stand it. I’m doing what I love and loving what I do. Studying, building a presentation, training and encouraging ladies to step out of their comfort zone—it lights my internal fire in a way I can’t explain. I’m fulfilled. Overflowing. And I want others to feel that way too.
Are you doing what you love? Are you, like me, finding it ironic that all the goals of the adult existence used to seem like torture to our younger selves? No matter what you discover, I pray you’ll search, seek, and then surrender to a passion that you didn’t even know you needed. Give it a try. You might just find it to be what you were made to do.