From Plans to Purpose: God Still Has Something for You

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Nearly forty years ago, I was pregnant with my oldest son and working three jobs.

I had a nine-to-five job, worked in telemarketing, and helped run a trash service. Yes, this pregnant mama was out there picking up people’s trash! Sometimes I think people signed up because they felt sorry for me.

I was working hard, preparing for a baby, and carrying responsibilities I had hoped to share. I had plans for my life, but much of my energy went toward getting through the day.

Recently, as I reflected on that season, something stirred in my heart.

Back then, I was carrying a child. Today, I am carrying vision—ministry, ideas, and a desire to help other women recognize what God has placed inside them.

The years have changed me. They have taught me things I could never have learned from a book. And they have brought me back to a question I believe many of us ask, especially as we grow older:

Lord, what do You have for me now?

When Our Plans Begin to Change

I have always been a planner. My mind can stay busy asking questions: How can I make this better? How will I work that out? What should I do next?

Perhaps yours does, too.

Proverbs 19:21 reminds us that we may have many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will stand. I’ve come to realize that planning isn’t the problem. The question is whether I’ve invited God into the process—or simply asked Him to bless what I’ve already decided.

That’s a question worth asking at every age, but especially when life begins to look different from what we once imagined.

My children are grown. I have grandchildren. I also care for my mother. There is joy in this season, and there are responsibilities. Some of the things that once filled my days have changed, while new responsibilities have taken their place.

But in the middle of it all, I still feel the pull of purpose.

And I wonder how many other women feel it, too.

We’ve spent years raising children, building careers, serving in our communities, caring for loved ones, and doing what needed to be done. Then, somewhere along the way, we begin asking different questions.

What now? Is there something more I’m supposed to do? What does God have for this season of my life?

What the Years Have Given Us

When I look back over my life, I see hard seasons, good seasons, and choices I would make differently today. Some stretches felt like going around the same mountain.

But I also see how much I have learned.

I understand certain kinds of exhaustion because I have lived them. I know what it feels like to carry a heavy load and wonder whether anyone sees it. Those experiences help me listen when another woman shares what she is facing.

The pregnant young woman picking up trash nearly forty years ago couldn’t have imagined everything the years ahead would hold. She was concentrating on getting through the day.

But those years weren’t wasted. Neither were the difficult ones that followed.

And perhaps that’s something we don’t always recognize about growing older. We may focus on the things we’ve lost, the opportunities we missed, or the plans that didn’t unfold as expected. But what about everything we’ve gained?

Think about what your own years have taught you.

Perhaps you understand caregiving, grief, leadership, teaching, starting over, or making a home feel safe. Perhaps people come to you because you explain things clearly or help them see possibilities they couldn’t see before.

Your experience may be the very thing that helps someone else feel understood.

For me, that realization has become an important part of my purpose. The things I’ve lived through have helped shape my desire to encourage other women to recognize what God has placed within them.

When It’s Time to Take a Step

Of course, recognizing that we still have something to offer and actually doing something about it are two different things.

Recently, I faced something I felt God was asking me to do. I didn’t have every answer. I could think of reasons to wait.

Finally, I said, “Okay, Lord. I’m going to do it because I believe You said to do it. I’m trusting You with what comes next.”

Taking that step brought me joy.

But I know how easily hesitation can take over. Fear asks familiar questions:

What if I don’t have enough money? What if nobody wants to hear what I have to say? What if I’m not good enough?

Those questions can keep us standing still, even when we feel drawn toward something meaningful.

Proverbs 16:3 calls us to commit our work to the Lord. For me, that means bringing Him both the work and the worry attached to it.

I can prepare faithfully, take the next step, and release the outcome to Him. Trust doesn’t mean every circumstance becomes easy. It means I don’t have to carry every uncertainty alone.

And sometimes the next step isn’t something dramatic. It may be having a conversation, reaching out to someone, learning something new, or finally beginning a project we’ve been thinking about for years.

We don’t have to know exactly where a step will lead before we take it.

Making Room for What Comes Next

At the beginning of this year, I wrote that I wanted to speak every month. I thank God that I’ve had opportunities to do that.

Now, as I consider the year ahead, I want to bring my goals back to Him. I want to keep growing, serving, and listening.

Romans 12:2 speaks about being transformed through the renewing of our minds. I need that renewal because old fears and familiar ways of thinking can become so comfortable that I stop questioning them.

Time in Scripture, prayer, and wise counsel helps me recognize what I’m allowing to shape my decisions. It gives me space to ask whether I’m moving in faith or reacting out of fear.

Perhaps you are considering your own next chapter, too.

Before filling another page with plans, take a quiet moment with God. Think about what is stirring in your heart. Consider what your years have taught you and how those experiences might be useful to someone else.

Then identify one step you can take.

Nearly forty years ago, I was carrying a child while working three jobs and trying to make ends meet. I couldn’t see very far beyond the responsibilities immediately in front of me.

Today, I’m carrying something different—a vision shaped by all the years between then and now.

I don’t know everything the future holds. But I know those years have prepared me in ways I couldn’t have understood at the time.

And I believe the same may be true for you.

The years behind you may have given you exactly what you need for something still ahead.

It’s not too late. You are here for such a time as this.

What plan, dream, or concern do you need to place in God’s hands—and what is one step you can take in faith?

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Please read these foundational posts:

Best Life Dream Story

Best-Life Definition