Recently I had an experience with Mission
When you live your mission you feel all shy, quiet, pleased, smiley — if you are an introvert like me.
Of if you are an extrovert, you call your ten best friends (for you have many BFF’s) and you tell them about living your mission, and how you want to give the same feeling to them.
It’s like you are a little kid and someone gives you the most secret and treasured item on your birthday wish list, the one you didn’t tell anyone about – hardly even yourself. But your mom or dad got it for you anyway. Or, God knew it before you ever prayed it.
Up to now your mission was what you thought of when you briefly dreamed, like Psalm 139:16 – that you were created for a purpose.
Live your mission.
My recent mission moment came in a speaking engagement about family history, war, loss, meaning, and here, Right now. In these words. Your moments are all around you too.
August 2010 I spoke to Women in Touch here in Gilroy, Califronia. I covered Shadows and Light in the generations after World War II. I read segments of my novel, I discussed slices of life from World War II forward: loss, death, loss of hope, regaining hope, fun. The talk went well. We said now IS the time for memories. We had many in the audience who lived World War II. I enjoyed meeting an Italian war bride, a WAC (Women’s Army Corps) and another Dutch American woman like me.
Instantly I was reminded my mission is to tell stories and hear stories. In one room, with few words, I heard the beginnings of many stories.
Any of us can be in the way of death, as in War, or put ourselves in the path of death, due to self-destruction. To chose life and hope then, is to have a mission.
Write your mission statement now. My longer statement is to:
Reveal the tenacity and joy of the human spirit, that spirit which we receive from our Creator. Whether through ordinary humor in every day occurrences or the inspiration of the Spirit breaking through suffering and trauma I want to dispel the power of doubt, secrets and false isolation. As readers relate to words, I hope to create openness to the Spirit, which transforms our relationship to others and the world.
The short version is: to be me, Janneke Jobsis-Brown showing and shepherding survivors of trauma, as well as seekers of joy, to find faith and meaning in every day life. It’s always scary to write such a thing, then I remind myself if we don’t “write and right” our lives little can happen. So I hope to slowly live into this mission.
What is your mission? Tell me.
“There are no extra pieces in the universe. Everyone is here because he or she has a place to fill, and every piece must fit itself into the big jigsaw puzzle.” Deepak Chopra
“If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning.” C.S. Lewis
“….All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:16
