We have a Purpose, a Calling and a Goal
Tara Paterson
June 11, 2007
Early on in life, I knew I would have children. It is often the dream of young girls to some day grow up and be just like their mom. We are taught to play with dolls and to play house, we nurture, and if we have younger siblings we are asked to contribute to their care. Well at least in my home.
I did have two younger siblings and I recall stories where my mom would tell me that I would take care of my brother, who was 6 years younger than I, as if he were my own, but not in a mother - hen type way, rather a caring, nurturing way. So it came to pass that when I met the man of my dreams, we immediately got pregnant - don’t worry, I am well aware of who was pregnant!
My husband and I made a decision that we were not going to put our children in day care. I don’t believe that there is anything wrong with day care if it’s what you choose to do, but I would be for my children what my mom was for her children - present. So my husband and I tag teamed our work load. I would leave for work when he would pull in to the driveway. This went on for 3 ½ years until I became pregnant with our second son.
We began our first home-based business, because we knew we would need the second income. Early the next year we decided to move to be around support for this new business. Shortly after moving, we realized that this home-based business was not for us. Twist of fate if you ask me…
Fortunately, we moved to an area that was in an economic growth spurt and given my husband’s experience in Carpentry, within 6 months he began his own business and I began JustForMom.com. We were both working toward our goals.
I believe that we are called on for three specific reasons in life - we have a purpose, a calling and a goal. In my case, my calling is - being a mom. It’s the most important thing for me to be - at this time. Motherhood is the most important responsibility anyone can be given and it’s necessary to treat it as your job and give it your best, while knowing that once you have completed the process of raising your children, you have completed your calling.
Our purpose is to always do what’s right. Although people spend a lot of their time trying to find their purpose, purpose is doing right things and treating people the way we want to be treated. If you consider the challenge in being kind to someone you would rather hit over the head, you have found purpose in life. Now that doesn’t mean that purpose doesn’t lead to what you are meant to do in life, in fact that is exactly where it does lead. By doing right things, right things enter your life as in the cliché - you will get back what you put out, tenfold.
That leads me to the final reason for our journey and that is attaining our goals. Our goals are the place we would like to end up by maintaining our calling and fulfilling our purpose, which helps us to achieve our goals. Each one of us has a different goal in life and if we recognize along the way the differences between these three very powerful roles we play, we can easily achieve balance and unity in our lives as well as the lives of our family. It will also help us stay focused when we start to question our purpose. If aligning purpose with our calling to reach our goals helps us feel fulfilled while reaching the result we would like for ourselves, then identify this in your life. As Oprah always says - “You can have it all, just not at the same time.”
2004 - 2007 Tara Paterson, All Rights Reserved
I did have two younger siblings and I recall stories where my mom would tell me that I would take care of my brother, who was 6 years younger than I, as if he were my own, but not in a mother - hen type way, rather a caring, nurturing way. So it came to pass that when I met the man of my dreams, we immediately got pregnant - don’t worry, I am well aware of who was pregnant!
My husband and I made a decision that we were not going to put our children in day care. I don’t believe that there is anything wrong with day care if it’s what you choose to do, but I would be for my children what my mom was for her children - present. So my husband and I tag teamed our work load. I would leave for work when he would pull in to the driveway. This went on for 3 ½ years until I became pregnant with our second son.
We began our first home-based business, because we knew we would need the second income. Early the next year we decided to move to be around support for this new business. Shortly after moving, we realized that this home-based business was not for us. Twist of fate if you ask me…
Fortunately, we moved to an area that was in an economic growth spurt and given my husband’s experience in Carpentry, within 6 months he began his own business and I began JustForMom.com. We were both working toward our goals.
I believe that we are called on for three specific reasons in life - we have a purpose, a calling and a goal. In my case, my calling is - being a mom. It’s the most important thing for me to be - at this time. Motherhood is the most important responsibility anyone can be given and it’s necessary to treat it as your job and give it your best, while knowing that once you have completed the process of raising your children, you have completed your calling.
Our purpose is to always do what’s right. Although people spend a lot of their time trying to find their purpose, purpose is doing right things and treating people the way we want to be treated. If you consider the challenge in being kind to someone you would rather hit over the head, you have found purpose in life. Now that doesn’t mean that purpose doesn’t lead to what you are meant to do in life, in fact that is exactly where it does lead. By doing right things, right things enter your life as in the cliché - you will get back what you put out, tenfold.
That leads me to the final reason for our journey and that is attaining our goals. Our goals are the place we would like to end up by maintaining our calling and fulfilling our purpose, which helps us to achieve our goals. Each one of us has a different goal in life and if we recognize along the way the differences between these three very powerful roles we play, we can easily achieve balance and unity in our lives as well as the lives of our family. It will also help us stay focused when we start to question our purpose. If aligning purpose with our calling to reach our goals helps us feel fulfilled while reaching the result we would like for ourselves, then identify this in your life. As Oprah always says - “You can have it all, just not at the same time.”
2004 - 2007 Tara Paterson, All Rights Reserved
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