Note: Guest reflection by the fabulous Terry Chapman PhD.

To be at one with oneself should be a primary life goal.  But getting to that point in one’s life journey requires the courage to keep moving toward a more integrated life, built gradually over time, by engaging in genuinely unique personal and sometimes professional achievements, launched by a dream of who we wish to become. 

At age 40, I heard the Lord say to me in a retreat to identify God-given gifts and possible ministries using them to make the world a better place for all of us. He had not spoken to me before or since that strikingly moving experience, now 38 years ago this fall!  But speak he did and said, “Help them Grow”. No specifics, just that directive that filled my heart with the decision to move ahead using my Ph.D. in Adult Education and Career Development to help as many folks as possible in the ensuing years. I never tire of hearing stories about life journeys!

My ministry has enabled me to spend time with very many wonderful persons with differing cultures, value systems, and in many US states, but with one thing in common: the sure conviction that what I was pursuing was what I was supposed to be doing over my lifetime.  And as has been said so many times, that decision has made all the difference.

Take time now, whatever your age or condition to think deeply about what your best skills, talents, and attributes are and then identify ways (ministries) to use them in helping others.  For one it could be changing from accounting to a theology degree and a formal ministry. For another, it could mean someone gifted in family affairs and organizational skills, arranging a large family reunion bringing family together for the first time in years. And for another still: it could be as simple as volunteering at a Veterans hospital to visit the sick or help with recreational events at the hospital or in the community.  What is your passion in life? I truly hope it includes helping others as an integral part of who you are and what you want to achieve and who you wish to become! Once you use those unique gifts, you will feel at one with yourself perhaps for the first time!

~Terry Chapman PhD