Lindsey Nordby

The past few weeks in my world have been a little chaotic. Our kitchen remodel ramped up and everything started happening out of nowhere, and I started feeling really overwhelmed and lost. Hence why writing on here got a little neglected the past two weeks!

Something I have really been trying to focus on is not allowing myself to feel overwhelmed to the point of shutting down. In doing so, I have eliminated so much stress out of my life, taking things piece by piece, and allowing myself the time and space to relax when I know I am starting to be overworked.

In the grand scheme of things, this is just one small thing I am doing in a larger effort to really find what my heart is yearning.

In the past six months, or more so over the course of the year, I have learned a lot about myself. One of the things I have learned is how I allow myself to lead with my mind, and not with my heart, or with what God is trying to lead me to. The need to control every step of my life through a methodical and “realistic” lens has made me feel lost and empty on so many occasions. I had this yearning for something different, on a path that was different than the one I was trying to create for myself.

I began praying on it.

It sounds so simple and basic, however, I have lost a lot of my prayer life in my adult life. So, I made an intentional step to have purpose driven prayers, and not just a blanket prayer. I told God what I was feeling. I shared my hopelessness for the purpose of my life. I shared the emptiness I felt. I shared the feeling that a change was needed. And I asked God to guide me, and to lead the way to that change.

I began to sense a number of things on my heart. The most prominent of these is a need to truly circle back to who I am at my core. Re-focus the things I spend my time doing. Find a creative spark in the mundane, everyday tasks. And re-align my career with something that actually fills my cup.

I began thinking back on career decisions I have made since college. Early on in college, I was seeking out mentorship or teaching careers through Youth Ministry and Music Education. I then had a sudden change to business, and my life sort of shifted. I started working in marketing, then real estate. While I do not regret getting my degree in marketing or taking business classes, as the principles I learned will apply greatly to some future endeavors, I do feel as though I deviated from the path I was destined for.

I have been thinking a lot about this, because I truly believe that God uses all for a greater purpose. And, I do think my business and marketing experience is going to come into play later in my life, and that it was an essential step I needed to take. Now, however, I am feeling guided a different way. Back to where I originally planned on going. Back to a mentoring and teaching career path.

Similar to taking steps to feeling less overwhelmed, I have begun taking steps to find the career I would truly be happy in. This has not been an easy process, as I don’t have the formal training for it. However, I know it’s what God is trying to guide me towards.

As I continue into the next six months, I will continue shaping my life in the way God is leading me. The “money making” career path that I was trying to follow has been the root of me feeling so empty. I needed to rediscover who I am and who God wants me to be.

There is something so beautiful about God using all for good, and using every step we take to weave a much larger narrative for our lives. I know each thing I have done and experienced is going to be worth wile, even if I have felt empty and lost for a while, and I know that He has the most wonderful plan laid out for my life.