“My name is Bethany. I will be guiding you through your practice.” I reflect on these words and a small smile appears on my face. This smile, with lips pursed, hides a gentle laugh, and gives me away. The memories are flooding my mind. At 25, I’ve worn many hats to finally find one that fits.
A grocery clerk, a youth pastor, a campus minister, a nanny, a maid, a substitute teacher, a waitress, a barista, a medical receptionist and now a yoga teacher: I have a hat for each. I have a lesson learned and a tear shed in each turn of my life. And now I am standing here in front of you with gratitude in my heart. The years are hard when you are young and unsure of yourself. We all want to be good at something and are impatient with the process that brings us there.
One thing I’ve learned: You have to fail at a lot of things before you find a passion that wins.
Young or old, lost in the darkness of uncertainty, we all make a journey for meaning and purpose.
Let yourself fail and fail well until you find a win. Then embrace it with gratitude; knowing it would have never been the same if you hadn’t experienced all of the disappointments along the way.
I don’t know. I do know that God teaches us something through each experience. Every so often we can look back and see how God has worked in our lives. Wow! You’ve done a lot of things in just a few years! And you’ve learned a lot. 20 years from now you’ll look back and see even more things you have learned. And 50 years from now you’ll probably look at things even more differently. And you’ll again see God’s hand in it all.
Very true. I don’t even think of all the years I have ahead of me. 25 seems so long but there is so much more in store in the future. Hopefully, I can say the searching for a career of purpose is over but I’m sure no matter how old we get, we struggle in waves with the same feelings of discontentment and inadequacy.