My Life Mission Statement

In our Sunday School lesson this morning, we were discussing mission statements, and we were challenged about our own personal mission statement. So that got me to thinking about what my personal mission statement would be? What do I hope to accomplish with my life here on Earth -- and after?

My Personal Mission Statement: To give my all to my God first, my family, my job and my community with a smile and a good attitude.

I didn't always have a good attitude. Just ask my mom about my teenage years! Moody was my middle name! I grew up in church -- we were Episcopalian. But I always wanted to know how I could be sure I would go to Heaven when I died. Episcopalians don't always stress a personal relationship with Jesus -- you get confirmed and it's assumed you're a Christian. Then in my teenage years, I went to MYF with my Methodist friends and got involved with Young Life. That's when I first heard about dedicating my life to the Lord -- and I accepted Him as my Lord and Saviour at a MYF retreat when I was in ninth grade. One of the most defining experiences of my life was the month I spent on Work Crew at Young Life Camp Frontier in Colorado.

Ask me where I feel closest to God, and my answer is in the mountains. They're beautiful and majestic -- and I can just see the majesty of God there. I still can't believe my parents let me fly (for the first time ever) alone to Denver (I had just finished my junior year of high school), then take a bus to Colorado Springs where a bus from the camp picked us up! I can't believe I did it either -- I was friendly but kind of shy (yeah, I know, you can't believe it!). I didn't know what my job at camp would be when I left, and all the way there I prayed, "Dear God, I'll do anything, just don't make me clean bathrooms!" I figured since I had worked in restaurants, I might get to be a food server -- the really cool job!

Well, I get there and guess what my job was? Yep, cleaning bathrooms! To this day, I still have a thing about clean bathrooms! Another girl and I had the job to scrub toilets, showers and sinks and mop the floors of the campers' bathrooms (they had one big one for the girls and one for the boys with multiple showers, etc). And boy they could make me really mad tromping in mud on my freshly washed floors!

But, see, God has a plan -- and He's always made me learn things the hard way! I learned to do a good job at whatever He had for me to do -- and to accept whatever He had for me to do. So I became an excellent bathroom cleaner! And God has rewards! The guy on Staff who was responsible for plumbing was "really cute"! So when someone dropped a ring down the drain or got it stopped up, I sat on the counter and talked to the cute guy while he fished it out! And I learned how to take a drain apart! Life lessons!

And when I got home from that summer, I had a better attitude that's pretty much stayed with me all my life. I've had tragedies -- my parents got divorced, we had a baby boy who was stillborn, and my sister died from Lupus at age 32. But I've also had many blessings -- my husband and two wonderful daughters and my granddaughter Kate -- a good job where I could be close to home -- some great friends and my mom close by!

So my desire at the end of the day is that I've been able to make someone's life a little more pleasant that day -- that I've been able to make my community a better place to live -- that I've helped my children to become responsible Christian adults. What more could I ask for? Thanks, Lord!