It has been a lonnnng minute! Hmmmm.... I am still trying to get the hang of this 'blogging' thing, it's a lot harder than I thought!...(tongue in cheek) *hehe* ;)
So, what's been up with me? I have been chillaxing with my wonderful fam, turning in paperwork to complete admissions/enrollment process for school, i.e transcripts, vaccination records,...yadayada.
My lil one started walking exactly a week after her first bday!!Woohoo! (we jokingly say that she wanted to have some good ol' birthday cake before she walked....lol). Its super cute, though! No wonder they call them "toddlers", she just toddles off on her not-so-stable legs and explores her little world. Did I say I love being a mommy? ;) She is fixing to be 13 months old in 3 days!!! Yikes! They grow SO fast!
Ok so today I will be "talking" a little about the truths/facts that have helped me on my ongoing journey of turning my dream of becoming a physician into reality... I hope it will be of help to you as well ;)
First, let's address how to recognize what your God-given dream/purpose is. If you are anything like me, you have at some point in your life asked yourself, "What on earth am I here for? What is my purpose? How do I find my purpose? What if I never find it?" And the list goes on...
Well, I have been there.
I have questioned, doubted and toyed around with so many ideas of what I could/should be doing..I even thought of becoming a chemical engineer at some point in my life...LOL... smh...I would have failed woefully at that! Anyone that knows me well will tell you that I am not a "chemically inclined" human being at all! (except for my makeup/cosmetics paraphernalia of course! Lol.. :D)
But seriously, I disliked every minute of my premed Chemistry courses. Ok, let's just say that I had a love-hate relationship with Chemistry... I 'loved' it because I had to complete it as part of my premed requirements, i.e. I needed it to become a doc (lol), but Lord knows I did not like it! Many may wonder, "How can you say you love medicine, yet hate chemistry, I thought all doctors were supposed to love science?"..Well, yes and no!
It is possible for you to love a 'whole' thing, but not have a passion for every part of that 'whole'. For instance, an avid musician who loves music in its entirety may have a passion for the piano or guitar, but not particularly enjoy being on the drums. So, yes, science is a huge part of medicine, but it's not the whole thing...Medicine is an art as well, an art of caring and relating to people.
But that is a message for another time....;)
So, what was I saying before I veered off path? Ummm, yeah.. it did not take me too long to realize that I would most probably have made a
I went through many phases of questioning whether or not to commit to medicine (its very time consuming and EXPENSIVE to become a physician!) and just advance up the nursing ladder. With prayers and guidance from the Lord, the following pointers helped to redirect me back to my first love, Medicine. It was my dream since childhood and it persisted onto adulthood.
So to answer the question, "How do I know what my God-given dream/purpose is?"...here are 7 truths that continue to guide me on my journey (and I hope will help you too!):
Your God-given DREAM will:
1.) Consistently capture your imagination- simply put, you can't stop thinking about it. It's like a romantic relationship. It consumes your thinking and gets bigger and bigger inside of you!
2.) Seem almost impossible to achieve- My pastor always says, "if your dream is not big enough to REQUIRE God's help and intervention to achieve it, then it is not big enough". The path to achieving your dream should make you become less self reliant and more God-dependent.
3.) Seem like it will never come to pass- the dream will appear unreachable BUT deep down inside of you, you refuse to give up on it or let it go. It could be a sign that the path to achieving it may be rough, but with God's help, it can be attained!
4.) Not excite everyone as much as it excites you- Think about Joseph in the Bible. Genesis 37:5 says Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers, they hated him all the more. Uh-oh! Surprised? When he shared some more information about his dream to his brothers, verse 8 (b) of the same chapter goes on to say: "And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said."
Here's a fact: You will be sure to come across naysayers who will try to "rationalize" and distract you from your God-given destiny (sometimes, even with good intentions!). Be very careful about whom you share your dreams with! Your dream is your unborn child, you are 'pregnant' with it, therefore, not many people feel what you feel or see what you see, so be very protective about it; like a mamma (or pappa) bear would be with their young cubs. Nurture and take care of your dream(s)!
5.) Cause you to receive resistance, setbacks, frustrations, challenges and disappointments- (have I said enough depressing stuff yet?...lol). I have heard people say on many occasions, "A setback is a setup for a comeback" or "Delay is not denial". These two quotes are so true yet, in the middle of your trials, they tend sound very cliche. Nevertheless, NEVER GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAM! EVER!
When I think of this point #5, all I can think of is King David in the Bible. God lovingly called David "a man after My own heart", despite that David was NOT spared from his own share of setbacks, frustrations, resistance etc. But, they eventually made him the man that learned deal with anger and danger, learned to fight, became dependent on God for survival and protection, grew in his relationship and increased in the knowledge of God.
He also learned obedience and submission to God, fostered close, enduring friendships and relationships and developed a sense of responsibility to the call of God on his life. You are responsible for the call of God on your life!
In the process of possessing your dreams, you will face many ups and downs that may threaten the pursuit of your dreams, but rejoice because, "These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold--though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ revealed to the whole world." (1 Peter 1:7, NLT Bible)
You WILL overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of YOUR testimony! (Revelation 12:11, NIV Bible). But without a test, there can't be a testimony, right? ;)
6.) Cause you to walk into the unknown, in uncharted territory- Thomas Jefferson said, "If you want something you've never had, you must be willing to do something you've never done." What a true statement! Risk-taking is something I have learned over the course of my journey into medicine. I am usually not a big risk taker, but have had to revamp my thinking along the way. I did not have any one in my family or know anybody that I could relate to who had done what I was embarking upon, but I did not let that stop me from moving forward! Israel Houghton's 'Moving Forward' song comes to mind right now...:)
7.) Define and shape your life- As you become more convinced about your God-given dream/purpose, you become more goal-oriented and vision-focused. What I mean is, your life decisions begin to ALIGN with your goals. For instance, in my case, once I concluded that Medicine was my calling, I began to interact more with physicians and 'picked their brains', I took a course to help me understand more about the economics of the massive healthcare system in America, read books to expand my medical knowledge base and challenge my thinking, built professional relationships and networks, etc...pretty much, anything and everything that helped to promote self improvement, I invested in.
In conclusion...
My hubby always tells me when I am confused about making a decision (which is like everyday!..lol) to identify what I know that I definitely don't want and then decide from the remaining options. Pretty simple advice, right?
I urge you to do likewise in the pursuit of your God-given dreams.
I hope these above mentioned truths will help you in some way like they did for me.
Remember, no experience in your life is EVER wasted. Even if your God-given dream appears far off from what you are busy doing right now, it will all work out because, "we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to HIS purpose for them." (Romans 8:28)
In the words of my pastor, "God didn't say everything that happens to you will ALWAYS be good, He only said He will make it ALL work out for your good!" The destiny of your life is pre-planned by God, it's HIS plan for you. That's why it is your GOD-GIVEN dream. Pursue and take hold of it!
I leave you with one of my favest songs from Israel Houghton "It's Not over"...as long as there's life, there's hope for your dreams to be realized...#dreamBIG! #keephopealive
Remain blessed and stay tuned...
