Find your purpose- every whirlwind needs a hopeful leaf

It is hard to ignore a whirlwind, with its power and commanding presence. Our eyes are drawn from the ordinary to the extraordinary, as the gusts shake up the world and demand that we notice.

When I heard the words “every whirlwind has its first leaf”, it was impossible to let the words pass without reflection.

People naturally have something we are passionate about.

Too often we let fear or lack of direction or sometimes, if we are honest, the hope that someone else will begin…those things keep up from stepping out.

Truly, I am as a grain of sand in the desert,
Infinitesimal, so very small!
And, yet, I serve a purpose in this wondrous world,
As do the trees, so stately and so tall.
I’m just a tiny atom that God has placed down here—
I do not even know the reason why!
But I’m sure that He, with wisdom, has evolved a plan
To fit me in His pattern ere I die.
~Gertrude Tooley Buckingham, “As a Grain of Sand,” 1940s

What is the real purpose of my life?

What is the true beginning of change? Of hope? Of progress?

Whatever your passion is, remember the leaf.

Each single leaf first needs a breath below it to launch it into flight. We have the tremendous privilege of being that breath.

Whirlwinds can be something we are drawn into, by choice.

They can be something we were pushed into, without it.

“You don’t have forever. You have 24 hours each day to live by your values. People remember you only for what was most important in your life.” – J. R. Rim

What does finding my purpose look like?

The whirling wind can represent our determination to be a small voice that becomes a life song.

Be a leaf. Break out of being caught up and become the joy that others want to be caught up in with you!

Social activism, serving your community, living a life of outrageous generosity…forgiveness… those are tremendous purposes.

We all possess the thunder of pure fury and the calm breeze of tranquility. If it wasn’t for tomorrow, how much would we get done today? Whatever your purpose… embrace it completely. Get lost in the clouds every now and then so you never lose sight of God’s wonder. ~Paul Vitale

No less important is the gifts of tending the home, raising our children, loving our spouses. Whatever small thing we do with the deepest kind of intentional giving of ourselves?

That, my friends, is the beautiful tossing of leaves into the air and watching them create a marvelous and beautiful whirlwind.

Find your purpose and stir up change.