Re-wind, baby, Re-wind

It's 2009 (no, I'm not just discovering that -- just stating it to make a point). That means that I will be 39 years old this year.

And that means that I will be 40 next year.

And to be honest, I'm struggling with that a little bit.

Wasn't it just yesterday that I had my whole life ahead of me? And people were asking, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" rather than "What is your line of work?" (read "What have you done with your life?"). Chris will tell you that I've been annoyingly contemplative about approaching the end of my 30's, wishing I had accomplished more, wishing that there was more glam and less fat and more cash in the bank. That I would have had that magic moment where I figured out what the heck my "calling" is...

Today I'm "Rewinding" back to a post that I wrote 18 months ago about having a purpose in life (isn't that deep?), as a reminder to myself that my life is exactly as it should be, and that even seemingly tedious tasks are valid and necessary. And being faithful to those less-than-glamorous tasks can be the thing that makes a life great. Here it goes...

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2007

Pass me that Hammer

This morning I heard a blurb on the radio called "Hometown Hero" where people call in and talk about the impact other people have had on their community. It's refreshing to hear about people caring for people, isn't it?

So when we are inspired by others making an impact, the rest of us have to ask the million dollar question. And don't act like you haven't asked it...

"What is my purpose and how can I make a difference?"

We all have an insatiable need to know the meaning and purpose that was tagged to us when life began. To feel like we've somehow made the world better. To know that our existence is not in vain or a waste of breath.

I am lucky to know a lot of "accomplishers". Entrepreneurs who made their first million before the age of thirty. A surgeon who holds people's lives in his hands every day. An attorney who handles mergers and acquisitions for multi-million dollar companies, and a banker who analyzes the validity of those transactions. Another attorney who defends doctors in medical malpractice lawsuits. A real estate agent with the Midas touch.

Living the extra-ordinary life can pale in comparison to these exciting accomplishers and I sometimes wonder when my big AH-HA moment will arrive, where I finally know, "OH, this is what I was meant to do!" As if the drum roll will sound and everyone will break out into a High School Musical moment of succinct choreography and verse.

And then it hit me. Someone had to build the Nina, Pinta, and the Santa Maria in order for America to be discovered. Someone had to birth and raise Billy Graham. Someone had to introduce Jazz to Louis Armstrong. We don't know much about these people, but they were future-builders. If they hadn't shown up for work, the course of history would have changed.

The truth is that we are all future-builders, critical pieces of the puzzle of life that will keep going long after we are gone. Some may get more notoriety and time at the mic. Others just build. Quietly. Their names never to be known. But their boats are sailed, their children preach the gospel, their pupils make music. And the world is changed.

So for today, I am content to build. I will keep hammering on this bridge, nail by nail. Not knowing who will someday cross.