Perspective

Have you ever been in a time of life where it feels like you are just so exhausted by the mundane everyday life? I know I have been feeling that way lately. In my recent job, as much as I loved the opportunity, it brought about many mental battles for me. By the midway point of the school year, I was mentally checked out of my job. It was not easy to keep going to work or keep a positive outlook on the job, with the many factors that were bringing about an exhausted and discouraged self.

I want to be clear that the job itself was a blessing. The opportunities I had in my position were amazing but I wanted something more from my place of work. I could tell that I needed to work somewhere that had something different, for example, a better team mentality amongst the staff, better communication, and a position that would keep me busier. I need to be active at a job. It is not mentally healthy for me to have little to do day to day at work. For this reason, I am so thankful that God provided another option for me for the 22-23 school year.

During the job hunt, I had to still be a light where God already had me, despite how unmotivated, discouraged, exhausted, and bored I was. What got me through was most importantly the "winks" God gave me.

God's "winking" can be something easily missed if you are not looking for it. I call it a "wink" because there are moments when I did not want to keep doing what I was doing at my recent job, but God would orchestrate moments where I was needed and used for His glory. I could see that God was at work and I wanted to be a part of it.

Sometimes you have to take enough time to be still in His presence to see Him at work but know there is always something to see God's hands on in your life.

I felt like God was winking at me saying "Alyssa, you are where you need to be right now". God utilized these moments where I would have amazing conversations with students to remind me of my purpose where I was, EVEN THOUGH I would not be there the following school year. These moments gave me an evident reason to keep showing up to work and to keep inspiring the students I was interacting with. God grew my faith and He gave me the strength to finish out the job strong.

"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." Isaiah 40:29

Although I am on summer vacation, I still find myself in a somewhat discouraged state of mind and unmotivated mindset. Just because there is a lack of motivation and encouragement does not mean that I need to stay in that mindset. We all get to choose what we focus on daily and what we make our purpose. I could focus on the negative emotions I am feeling or I can focus on the blessing God has given me to be off work for a summer.

I can focus on the opportunity I have to relax, prepare for the next school year, and invest in those around me more than I could during the past school year when I was working long days. I have an opportunity to invest more time into my blog and the places I want it to go in the future, as well. I have the opportunity to spend more time with my family and my husband. See how much more encouraging and motivating it is when I switch the perspective from how I feel now about the downtime to what this time in between jobs can do for me, mentally, and in my relationship with God?

When you are the least motivated and the most discouraged, maybe that is the enemy trying to weaken you, or keep you from being active in ministering for Christ? When you are feeling uninterested in the mundane everyday routine, maybe you just need to realign what you are pursuing every day. Or maybe you just need to shake up your routine, get active, change up the scenery, and invest in what matters most: your relationship with God, family, and glorifying God with your life.

Do not let the emotions you have in the present, prevent you from utilizing your present for God's glory. God will use every last moment in your life for the greater good of the kingdom. He is that powerful. He wants you to be a part of it. He loves you that much.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28