Racing wasn’t just a day job for NASCAR legend Darrell Waltrip. I can tell you from experience, he was wired for it. I played golf with him once, and he nearly took off in the golf cart without me. He wanted to beat the other members in our group to the next tee. He was literally zigging and zagging all along the cart path to keep them behind us … where they belonged, apparently. After Darrell won the short chase, he looked at me and said, “Life is a race to me.” Darrell is wired for racing.
I admit I love the adrenaline rush of a fast car, but I’m wired a lot differently than Darrell. My life’s passion was largely borne out of the difficulty of my childhood. Like so many of us, I’ve experienced what happens when a family disintegrates. My father died an alcoholic, and my stepdad walked out on my siblings and me the day of my mother’s funeral. My passion now is to help couples build strong marriages and families.
That’s author Cynthia Tobias’ passion as well, although it took years for the doors to open for her. At 18, she told God, “Lord, I’ll be anything you want, but I’d really like to be a writer.” Had she known then that it would take 20 years for her dream to come true, it would have been too discouraging for her to go on.
That’s why God so often keeps our path through life shrouded in mystery. He weaves together the tapestry of your life all along the journey. He molds you and shapes you into the person you’re supposed to be, so he can lead you to the places you’re supposed to be.
Only 20% of Americans say they are in the exact right job for their strengths and talents. Maybe you stumbled into your vocation. You answered a “want ad” and work hard, but your job doesn’t fit who you are.
How can you know if you’re in the right profession? How can you know if you’re even on track when life gives you a detour, and you have to perform work that’s not exactly what you’d hoped to be doing?
Cynthia Tobias says there are three ways to know that you’re on the right track:
1. Know your strengths.
2. Know your target.
3. Know how God wants to use you.
If you’re having trouble answering those three questions, join us for our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Finding Your Path in Life.” Cynthia will explain how to figure out your God-given strengths and abilities, and how to use them well.
She’ll inspire you to ask God what goals He has for you and to go after them. Even if you’re not seeking a whole new career, there may be something that the Lord is asking you to do that holds eternal significance.
Join us for on your local radio station, online, on iTunes, via Podcast, or take us with you on our free phone app. I’d also like to extend an invitation for you to become a special partner with us through our monthly “Friends of Focus on the Family” program. When you do, I’ll send you a copy of Cynthia’s book A Woman of Strength and Purpose: Directing Your Strong Will to Improve Relationships, Expand Influence, and Honor God as a way of saying thank you for touching others with the love of Christ. To make your pledge, or for more information, visit our website or call 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459).
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