Take a breath, slow down. You don’t have to have it all figured out. You have plenty of time.

Okay, I’m talking to myself here—and to anyone who feels like they are rushing around, trying desperately to get a job, find a passion, feel purposeful, work hard enough, satisfy everyone, make everyone proud—you name it!

I could go on!

I am naturally a planner, and I like to know what is going to happen. When things unexpectedly come up at 8:00 p.m. I have a REALLY hard time wanting to go or change what I’m already doing. And let’s be honest, I am probably in my pajamas, makeup off, and ready to be in for the night.

I don’t handle lack of structure well, but I am also the biggest dreamer and want so badly to feel completely fulfilled in my life, work, marriage and want to feel used by God. I don’t currently feel that way, but let me back up a little. I got married about 6 months ago, and I absolutely LOVEEE marriage and I adore my husband, but friends, life is not easy.

We moved to a completely new area, had to get completely new jobs, and are currently trying to find completely new community. Man is it hard. I took on a new job that has incredible moments, and also incredible employers, but it’s just not for me. I don’t feel purposeful. I don’t feel like I am using all of my skills, and then sometimes I feel guilty because I don’t know what more I should be doing. I want so badly to serve the people I work for to my fullest, but I also don’t want to be there most of the time.

So then I wonder, what is it you want me doing God? What is my purpose? Where do I fit in?

Do you feel me? Are you reading this and thinking yes, I feel that way. I feel lost. I’m grasping at 20 different straws trying to see if one of them is for me. My mind is all over the place and I don’t know what God wants from me.

Well let’s just start with that last one. God doesn’t want anything from you. God doesn’t have any expectations or bars to meet. All He asks of us is this:

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. John 13:34

The reason I feel that verse is necessary is because for a while now I was going CRAZY trying to figure out what God wanted from me—what He wants me to do. I have a side business that I wondered if He wanted me to grow and go full time with. Or, get this, I went and started another side gig too. I am working full time and trying all of these different avenues to feel fulfilled in God, and you know what? It’s not working.

Because God doesn’t need me to find the perfect job or be worthy of His love by doing this or doing that. He just wants me to love Him and love others. If I’m doing that then I’m literally satisfying my only true life purpose.

Let that sink in for a minute, because it’s just now really sinking in for me. And God has tried, man has He tried, to comfort me and direct me and speak to me lately.

I mean, listen to the titles of some of my devotionals lately:

“Don’t Stress Out! Trust God to Provide For You!”

“Your Thoughts Control Your Life”

“Think of These Three Things For Mental Health”

“Feed Your Mind With God’s Word”

Ugh, God I’m am so sorry. You’ve been trying to speak to me for months now. You don’t want anything but just my heart, but i’ve been trying to hard to do a million things to feel worthy or good enough or like I’m doing something with my life.

There are tons of things in the world that make us think we have to be climbing mountains, killing the social media game, building businesses, making thousands—but we don’t. Those things can be fantastic, and if God pushes us in a direction that makes that happen, that’s awesome, but it’s not an expectation.

Trust me, God has some BIG plans for your life and mine, but I think that we struggle to even see straight enough to notice those things when we are so worried about doing, running, worrying, succeeding, etc. We need to slow down and realize that God is in control, and He will guide us if we give Him our entire hearts.

Since he did not spare even his own Son for us but gave him up for us all, won’t he also surely give us everything else? Romans 8:32

We worry so much about if we are doing enough to make it, or to be successful, or to do as well as this person or that person, or to make the decision God wants us to, but we forget that God already gave up everything for us. He has our absolute best interests in mind, and He will do anything for us. He will provide and guide, but we can’t be so busy worrying about doing things correctly to notice His gentle prods.

I am not preaching to anyone here because I certainly don’t know it all, but this message came upon my heart this week because I know I have been crazy anxious about life lately. I hope that if that’s you right now too, that you feel a sense of peace knowing that you don’t have to do it all or know it all. You don’t have to have your life’s work or purpose figured out today, next week, next year, or in 10 years.

Our purpose will evolve as we let God work. Some of the greatest people of faith and influence started businesses or began doing big things when they were 40, 50, or even retired already. I’m not saying don’t have goals and try to do big things now, because heck, I want to! But what I am saying is that we don’t have to stress out about figuring out life.

We simply have to live for today and live for God and His love.