A Purpose, on Purpose

Before we start tonight, I have something exciting to share with you guys 🙂

If you remember earlier this summer, I shared about my experience with Annie and how I was going home to film a 100th-Year Anniversary Video for the theater company!

Well – the video finally was released over the weekend, and – if I do say so myself – it turned out beautifully!

So you can watch it here, if you so please!

AND — while we’re on the video kick — if you missed my Costa Rica video, you can check it out here. BUT!!!! After I uploaded it, I got the footage from our snorkeling adventure where we saw a HUGE HUMPBACK WHALE with her baby!! So I’m adding that short clip here — it was SO incredible. Our guide got within arm’s length and took outrageously amazing footage on his GoPro!

OK – onto tonight’s post!

I had a conversation with a friend over the weekend that really struck a chord with me. So much so that I came home, wrote it down, and have been thinking about it ever since!

We were out to dinner at this cute little bistro in the West Village, and we were just going back and forth, talking about boys, skyrocketing rent prices, career hopes, faith, life, our “eggs” getting old — you know — the typical topics of single young professionals in Manhattan.

And she looked at me, and gave one of the most profound pieces of advice I think I have ever heard. She said, “Care — when you forget where you’re from, you forget where you’re going.”

And in that short little quip, my world was rocked, I tell you.

I’m not sure how deep she was meaning when she said it, but it struck something way down in my soul, that resonated to my core.

Because, I don’t know about you — but I can get so caught up in the weeds. It’s easy to do. Everything from social media, to bills, to weekend plans, to crushes with questionable interest, to that laundry hanging over my head — there are so many things that steal my attention.

And not just for a day or an afternoon. I mean, sometimes, I feel as though I’m in a season of kerfuffle. As though I’ve lost sight of the direction I’m swimming, because I’m too preoccupied treading water just trying to keep my head above water.

Do you know the feeling?

So when my beautiful friend reminded me of this huge truth, it hit like a sack of bricks.

When you forget where you’re from, you forget where you’re going.

Naturally, I spent the rest of the night contemplating just that.

And I’m no expert, but here’s what I got — take it or leave it. Hopefully something will resonate with you 🙂

Where I’m from – my upbringing, my faith, the important values my family instilled in me — those laid my foundation, upon which I began building my life.

But those were merely a watercolor background in my painting of life — until who I am, was put through the gauntlet.

No longer was my identity merely something that someone else created for me. I had to claim it for myself.

My anorexia. My ulcerative colitis. Those seasons of life when hope was gone forced me to define in black and white — nay — in blood — who I am, what I believe, and just how far I will bend before I break. Just how strong my faith and my trust in God really is.

That is where I come from. Not my cushy definition of girl scout pleasantries and a polite existence. No. I come from the nitty gritty, down and dirty rock bottom that broke me, and gave my life a complete redirection and purpose.

That is the direction I am going.

That is what I mustn’t forget. That purpose of sharing what God did for me. His rescuing power. His saving hand that literally spared me from my own demise. Literally.

At 78 pounds, enslaved to my eating disorder, lying to and manipulating everyone in my life, and obstinate against getting help or even admitting to having a problem — God found a way to break through that and save me from myself. Because I was barreling down a one way track to complete destruction.

We’re heading into a new season. September 2 – the beginning of a new month, new academic year, new season. Now is the time to remember that direction — that purpose — that where I’m from has dictated for my life, my future.

We go through things that shape us, not only to transform our hearts and strengthen our faith and solidify who we are — but also to shift our paths going forward, and sometimes even completely redirect where we’re headed.

It is never by accident. Our purpose is always on purpose. That, we can never, ever forget.

“This is what the Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.” Ez 37:5

A big thank you to my foundational sponsor, BetterHelp Online Therapy. I cannot begin to express how beneficial therapy was for my recovery from anorexia.  Speak with an online therapist. Or check out content about eating disorders from BetterHelp.

***THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS ORDERED MY BOOKS, BLOOM: A JOURNAL BY BEAUTYBEYONDBONES AND “MY BLOGGING TIPS“***

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Here was yesterday’s video! https://youtu.be/8pmp4ZI968A

MAGIC TOOTHPASTE? Yes! I am in love with this superior whitening toothpaste. It keeps my smile sparkling, without sensitivity or bleach! I made a website where you can directly order this miracle product! So if you want to give it a try, you can go ahead and grab a tube for yourself. I promise, your smile will thank you!

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