Have you stopped recently just to review? What’s really important to you? What drives you? What motivates you to get out of bed in the morning, and start a fresh, new day? Does your day begin with an excited, “Let’s get this day started,” or a distressed, “Let’s get this day over with”?

There are certain points in life which bring us to make such evaluations. Big moments, like graduating from high school or college, career choice, engagement, marriage, birth of child/children, birth of grandchild/grandchildren, mid-life directional change, retirement, etc. Many others could be interspersed in the course of a lifetime, but these are enough to get the point across.

If you would take a while right now to review your life, as you look back over the ‘big moments’, what stands out as the driving force, the motivating factor, that has compelled you to choose the path(s) you have taken up to this point? For some, it would be success, for others, money, for others to be the best parent ever, for others to rise to the top of your chosen field, and on and on. So, for just a moment, think! What has brought you to this point in your life?

Are you fulfilled? Satisfied? Contented? Or, do you have a sense of failure, dissatisfaction, and discontent? Are you at the present moment on a journey that brings you excitement at the beginning of each new day, or do you hate to see the sun rise, to hear the alarm clock sound, to face the drudgery of another day of the same old monotonous stuff?

The Bible offers a bit of insight into this matter. In Proverbs 22:6 we find these words: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” The wise parent will be an observant parent. He/she will pay close attention to the natural tendencies the child displays. Some children are outgoing and active while others are more reserved and quiet. Some love the outdoors and anything that can be done outside, while others are geared more to indoor activities such as reading, writing, drawing. They are different because it is in their DNA, their God-given code.

Children are not just born with different physical traits, but with vastly differing personality traits, different drives, different desires. A wise parent will make note of what drives their child(ren), and will foster those drives. For the parent of the child who loves sports, then encourage them to try different sports until they lock in to the one that is right for them. For the parent of the child who loves to write, or draw, or sing, or dance, then encourage them in that direction of life. One of the very worst things a parent can do is try to force his/her child(ren) to be something they’re not.

When my boys were young, they knew every year that one gift they would always get for Christmas was an electric train. It wasn’t that they particularly liked electric trains – as a matter of fact I finally figured out they couldn’t care less about electric trains. So why did they get one every year, you ask? Because I liked electric trains. I was living vicariously through them. I was, inadvertently, trying to force them to be like me!

When I finally realized that my two sons were vastly different, I began to try to facilitate those differences. For example, my oldest son, Bryan, loves to write poetry and songs, and to play music. My youngest son, Joshua, loved to be outside playing some sport, ANY sport! When I finally realized they were different, I began to try to move them in that direction, in the way God had designed them to go.

If you have tapped into your natural bent in life, then you are one of the privileged ones who truly loves the dawning of each new day, because you are doing what you were designed to do. If, however, you dread the dawning of each new day, and hate the thoughts of having to do whatever you do again, and again, and again, then you probably haven’t tapped into the real you.

As parents, we have a awesome privilege, and responsibility, of helping our children become what they are designed to be. But, if you are already an adult, and you are locked into a career path that leaves you empty and exhausted, and all you look forward to is the weekend or the next vacation, then please pay attention. Stop right now and make an evaluation of your life. What brings you the greatest sense of joy and accomplishment? That is where you need to be investing your life.

Jesus made a startling statement that I will close with: “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). I realize that the life to which Jesus refers is spiritual life, and the hope of eternal life. But, I feel that it also applies to our physical life, here and now. Jesus wants His followers to enjoy life, to live life to the max. And the only way that will ever happen in the fullest sense is when we tap in to His design for us.

So, what’s really important to you? What makes you tick? Why do you do what you do? I hope that it is because you have found your true self in relationship with the God who created you. Then, live your life to the full! That is God’s desire, and His design.