I am still working on blogs about the ladies retreat, not keeping up very well. In fact, I started this post a couple of weeks ago. I can’t seem to find time to sit down and write these days. Anyway, here goes.
In our second session, Libby Skaggs shared experiences from her life, which is truly a life of purpose.
1. Acknowledge
To live a life of purpose, you have to know where you derive your purpose from. God reveals Himself as the source of all purpose.
Ps 139:14-16
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there were none of them.
Eph 2:10
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
God uses people who are not perfect. God called Moses to lead His people. Moses felt unqualified, made excuses. God asked Moses, “What is in your hand”. God used what Moses had in his hand. That is where we start.
God has a plan for every person He created. Libby has an 8 year old son with several special needs. People might think he is not useful to God, but God has a special purpose for him. Dillon is a worshipper. He loves to worship. He does not know that it is not cool for an 8 year old to dance in the aisle at church. He also has a gift of encouragement. Dillon makes every person feel like the most loved. Although he has some limitations that might cause people to overlook him, it is a fact that God has a great purpose for Dillon.
2. Accept
Every member of the body is important, none more than others. A big hindrance to living out your own purpose is trying to fit into someone else’s mold.
One tool to help understand what your purpose is is from Rick Warren. We all must understand our SHAPE.
Spiritual gifts: God gives every believer spiritual gifts to be used in ministry. These are special God-empowered abilities God gives each of us for serving him. His plan is that each of use our gifts together. so that everyone benefits.
Heart: There are certain subjects you feel passionate about. Follow that passion. God wants you to use your natural interests to serve Him and others. People rarely excel at tasks they don’t enjoy doing or feel passionately about.
Abilities: Your abilities are the natural talents you were born with. All of our abilities come from God, and every ability can be used for God’s glory.
Personality: Your personality will affect how and where you use your spiritual gifts and abilities. God made you with a distinct personality for a reason. Don’t try to mimic someone else, just be yourself.
Experiences: You have been shaped by your experiences in life. In determining your shape for service, you should examine experiences from your past. Your greatest ministy will most likely come out of your greatest hut.
3.Activate
Acting on your God given purpose is a step of faith. Libby has adopted three children. Each time, there was not complete assurance. There was an element of of faith.
ps 119 105 one step at a time
Sometimes what God calls you to seems like an inconvenience. Two years ago, Mike and Libby had an email about a 15 month old baby in Korea who needed a family. It was an inconvenient moment, but it was a divine moment. That baby became their son, the third adopted from Korea.
When God reveals his purpose, He always promises His presence. God may use you in a way that may seem crazy, but He promises He will always be with you.
God may be calling you to serve near or far. As a wife and mother, Libby’s family is her first priority. It is important to take care of our own families, however, having young children at home is not a reason to never serve outside of the family.
Libby and her husband Mike were both formed by life experiences to care about other people. After the birth of their first son, they discovered they were not able to have other children, so adoption was an easy next step. After adopting their daughter Abby from Korea 10 years ago, their eyes were opened to the severe problems of the orphan world wide. When they adopted Dillon 2 years later, then found that he had special needs, they became very aware of the special plight of orphans with any kind of disability.
The fact is that there are 147 million orphans in the world. Every day, 26,000 children die of preventable disease. The need is so great, and Libby has realized that helping to meet the needs of the orphan is one purpose that God has given her; through adoption, through teaching about adoption and advocating for the orphans, and through trips abroad to help with the care of orphans.
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