INTRODUCTION

The curriculum In Pursuit of Purpose is designed to explore the past experiences that have negatively and positively impacted you. It is about self-reflection of your past experiences. The curriculum’s design will take you on a journey that will help you see how life experiences have shaped a false identity, perception, personality, and cloudy lenses that led you to struggle to find purpose. The design is to take you back to the beginning of time you can remember and interactions with family members and others. 

When life is full of impactful experiences such as trauma, it can cause you to live in shame, guilt and so much emotional pain.  You will find yourself building walls. You will find yourself missing out on beautiful experiences that could positively shape your life. Without true identity, perception, and personality, you will live your life in falseness and by the opinions of others. You will not find the purpose that God created you to live. Understanding TRUE identity and what you are purposed to do is the most important revelation that you will receive in your life. 

I once heard someone say that if you do not know your purpose before you go to college that the enemy will have a field day with you. It means the enemy will cause all sorts of distractions and detours. I must say that I do agree with this statement. In hindsight, I saw it play out in my own life. When you are confused about who you are, you become unfulfilled. Also, you aimlessly move about each day without progress toward your purpose. You will find yourself venturing onto paths that you were not supposed to take, creating lots of detours, making wrong decisions, and living the average life. Let me say that even though you may have taken some detours, God does not waste this time. He will use it to catapult you into your purpose and destiny. That is good news! Also, the amount of knowledge gained from the experiences prepares you for the purpose. Do you like how God does this? Understand that no time is a waste because He will use it for a purpose. God is the redeemer of time. 

Some people do not know what they are looking for in life. They hear about living the dream, but the dream life is not fulfilling. They desire better finances, relationships, or stability of emotions.  

The Pursuit of Purpose is a journey that you take along with God to discover the true identity, personality, and purpose. The trip to go back to your childhood or even your present moments can be difficult, but I believe that if you open your heart and reject the denial, it will be one of the most rewarding experiences by the time you complete the journey. What will you need to do to get to this rewarding place? Be truthful about your experiences. You may say you are honest about your experiences and identity, but I believe differently. We all have ways of deceiving ourselves about how our experiences impacted our life. Being truthful will require self-reflection to look deep within your heart to identify the TRUE you. It is now time to take the mask off and get real so that you can heal. 

For a quick exercise, find a large mirror and write down a list of things you identify about you. What do you see? You may point out features about yourself that you do not like such, as your arms, legs, stomach, or some part of your body. Maybe you are disappointed because you have put on a few extra pounds. What is the first thing you said about yourself? Was it negative or positive?

The reality is that you resemble your mother and father because you have their DNA. You are a reflection of them in physical features and even in your behavior. A person tends to examine and reject the external appearance more than we do our internal appearance. It is essential to exam your heart (mind, will, and emotions) daily to work on the inner appearance as much as the outer. You must be intentional about doing the work to bring forth the healing of your heart daily. When you find yourself wanting to revert to old habits and thinking, you must press forward. Think and speak over your life. When you begin to focus on the inner appearance, the external appearance and environment will align with the mental, physical, and emotional wholeness. 

Did you know that YOU are worthy? Yes! YOU are worthy in the precious eyes of God. Psalms 139:14 says, I praise you because you are fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, and I know that full well." No matter how messed up you think your life is right now or even in the past, all this can change over time. You do not have to allow the negative past experiences that resulted in shame, guilt, condemnation, and fear to keep you paralyzed from walking into your God-given destiny. God has a purpose for you, and He wants you to arrive in style.  

Today is the beginning of a new day and a new life for you. Move forward to commit to finding your identity, purpose, and passion. Rise-up and take a stand and reclaim your life, freedom, peace of mind, and destiny. Get Radical about the New You! You must begin to dream big for your life. I like this quote by Grayson Marshall that says, "if people are not laughing at your dreams….then they are not big enough." I am here to encourage you that God is on your side. He is all for you. After all, He created you with a purpose.  

Again, I want to congratulate you because YOU are on your way to identify PURPOSE.