Richard stood in line waiting to receive his gifts and purpose for life from God.  When his turned arrived his hand shook a little as he reached out and took them.  He read his purpose and let out a whoop, high-fiving the guy next to him.  Just the assignment he had hoped to receive.  But, when he took a look at his gifts, he wasn’t so sure he wanted to use them.  He looked around to see what others were doing with their gifts and it seemed that many of them felt the same way he did.   He formulated a plan on the drive home.  When he pulled up to his house he quickly went to his backyard, took a shovel and dug a hole.  He glanced furtively around and then dropped his gifts into the hole and  shoveled dirt on top of them.  He proudly took his “Purpose Certificate” and hung it in a gold frame on the wall in his office.  He stepped back and admired it, imagining the good impression it would make on anyone who crossed the threshold into his office.

Nineteen years later Richard stepped into his office and decided it needed updating.  Orange shag carpet was no longer the latest fashion statement.   He glanced at the outdated art on his wall and noticed the “Purpose Certificate” that still hung there, though slightly crooked after being ignored all those years.  He read it and vaguely remembered the excitement he felt when he received it.  The purpose was exactly what his heart had desired most those 19 years ago.  He noticed his hand shake as he reached to take it off the wall.  What  he had done with his life for the last 19 years really had nothing to do with the purpose God had given him.  He supposed  that could be because he had buried the gifts he needed to fulfill his purpose in his backyard.

I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills His purpose for me.  Psalm 57:2