Born for a Reason!
By Bonnie Winters
You were born for a reason, not just by chance,God has a purpose for letting your breath last. If you seek Him you will find Him, He will see you through, for with the help of God, there’s nothing you can’t do! (Lyrics by Gary Beasley, Zion Bible Institute, Class of 1973.)
The words of my Bible college class song reverberated in my heart as we sang it together for the first time. I was born for a reason, but what was that reason? As a young teen, I dedicated my heart to missions, desiring above all else to become a Wycliffe Bible Translator. I had a love affair with the syntax and flow of language, as well as a romantic notion of working with some remote tribe in the Amazon region of South America.
I graduated at the top of my high school class, but the guidance counselors discouraged my dreams. They insisted missionary work was a waste of my talents and argued that Bible colleges didn’t provide a good enough education.
My parents also undermined my dreams with their words, "We can’t afford to send you to college. It’s too expensive." The underlying message came through loud and clear: "Your dreams are a waste of time. Get married, get a job and stay here. If it was good enough for us, it should be good enough for you."
But my heavenly Father cared about my dreams. He directed me to a Bible college in Rhode Island – the same college attended by one of my cousins. My parents allowed me to go there to prevent being snubbed by my mother’s sister. God even provided an annual summer job which took care of most of my expenses while in school.
For the first two years, I clung to my dreams with a white-knuckled grip. I vowed that nothing would deter me from achieving them. But at the beginning of my third year, a well-meaning professor took it upon himself to correct some of my "faulty" perceptions. "You’re trying to buy God’s favor," he said.
Did God really want me to go to the mission field or was my professor right? Was I using my missionary dream as a way to prove I was good enough? After only one conversation, my low self-esteem sounded the death knell for my dream. My life no longer had a well-defined purpose and I floundered in my faith. If I wasn’t good enough to be a missionary, what would I do with my life?
Thankfully, the same professor also engaged in some creative matchmaking, introducing me to a young man with an eye toward pastoral ministry. We fell in love and married after graduation. Because my dream died, I adopted my fiancé’s dream and determined to be the best pastor’s wife I could be. After all, I’d still be serving the Lord full time, I reasoned.
But God never wastes a dream. Even though I gave up my desire to be a foreign missionary, He still worked behind the scenes, preparing me to fulfill my destiny. During my senior year in college, I was asked to do some writing for the yearbook. I couldn’t fathom why they asked me, but I accepted the challenge to write the dedication page about the school principal, Mary Campbell.
Her life of simple faith had impressed me – there was so much to say; so many stories I could tell about her decades of service at the college. For weeks I struggled to compile the information into an organized form. I prayed and filled my wastebasket with crumpled notes. At last I boiled it down to four sentences which fit her life.
To be born for a reason is to live a life of dedication.
To be born for a reason is to live a life of self-sacrifice.
To be born for a reason is to live a life of quiet waiting before the Lord.
To be born for a reason is to live a life of faith.
I felt like I should have written more, but those four sentences superimposed over the full length photo of Mary Campbell as a young woman created the perfect tribute to her life of dedicated service and faith.
As I struggled to pen just the right words, God gave me a glimpse of the deepest longing in my heart – to be able to work with language in a way that would influence others for Him. It was the essence of my teenage dream minus the rose-colored visions of living in a jungle hut.
When we visited my Alma Mater for my 25th class reunion, the guest speaker, Tommy Reid, summed it up well: "God never puts anything into our spirits that He doesn’t intend to birth." God planted the seed of a dream, nurturing it until its time to be birthed into a fruitful ministry.
Thirty-six years have passed since graduation from college. I’ve worked full time in ministry with my husband and loved every minute of it. God used the time constructively to heal my low self esteem, bolster my confidence and teach me the writing ropes .I’ve become a "paper missionary," writing words that go around the world to places I might never see, influencing others for Him.
The words of my class song still echo in my heart, especially the last lines – "If you seek Him, you will find Him; He will see you through. For with the help of God, there’s nothing you can’t do!"
What do you want to do for God? Examine the thoughts and desires of your heart. If those desires are bigger than you, causing you to reach and stretch; if they burn inside and remain in spite of all the tests and trials, they are from Him. He never gives a dream without a plan to birth it. You are born for a reason!
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Bonnie is the author of Daughter of Lot, a Bible novel based on the story of Ruth the Moabitess, available in all major online bookstore chains. Her second book, Scarlet, is based on the story of and awaiting a poublisher.She has authored Bible studies, devotionals and articles on abuse and recovery, Christian Education ideas for children, inspirational short fiction and drama. As a pastor's wife with over 30 years of ministry experience, she is involved in counseling, music and children's ministry. Bonnie is a graduate of the Institute of Pastoral Counseling through Emerge Ministries, Akron, OH; Zion Bible College in Barrington, RI and SUNY Empire State College, Binghamton NY Unit with a degree in adult learning and mentoring. Besides writing, Bonnie enjoys her six grandchildren and card making. Contact Bonnie at indianabon@yahoo.com or visit her websites at www.bonniewinters.com and http://inkitblog.blogspot.com
