Fullness of Life: Blooming Where We Are Planted

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Our guest writer this week is Valerie Tan.

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I believe that many of us ask ourselves - what can I do to make my life more fulfilling? How can I be happier? And some of us may think that the answer lies in taking decisive steps to discern and effect a change in our external circumstances. For instance, a switch in careers, re-establishing ourselves in a different country, ending or beginning new relationships, etc.

I fully believe that there are times when God calls us to step into new territory. There are times when He leads us to new terrains and new experiences, as a part of our journey to be more fully human, more fully His children. There are indeed times when He will thus call us to take decisive action to move on from where we are, to move us closer to Him.

Yet, there are also times when He says - wait.

Just as it can be challenging to take a step into the unknown in order to move into new places that we are called to, it can also be challenging to sit on your hands and wait to take a next step. You may be BURSTING with energy, DYING to know where the promised land is, so that you can plan your next steps and move towards that. But all God seems to be saying is "wait here".

"But why, God!! Why must I wait here?? I am ready to move! I want to know what I am meant to do! Show me the next step! Let me take the next step already!" - Val, in her impatience and angst

Why? It's a really good question. For the times that waiting is the next step... why? How does this period of waiting bring me closer to God? How is God using this moment to bring me closer to Him? There is always something that God is trying to teach me. What is He revealing to me at this moment, with the present circumstances that I'm facing?

Furthermore, instead of being overwhelmed by the uncertainty of what lies ahead, can I rest in, and live out of, the certainty of what I already know?

Firstly, what I already know about who God is, and hence His love for me, His plans for my welfare and not for my woe, His promises to give me a future full of hope... even if I cannot see it at the moment! I can only believe what a person has promised me if I trust the person who has made those promises. Do I trust God? Do I know how much He loves me? Do I really know the extent of His love for me?

"For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." Romans 8:24 – 25

Secondly, what I already know about how God wants me to live in the present. God has already revealed to me how He wishes for me to live in the commandments... how am I living them out in the circumstances that I find myself in?

“When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22: 34 – 40)

Third, what do I already know about the fullness of life that I am seeking? The fullness of life that Jesus has promised? I am currently exploring this through reading a book that a dear friend has kindly lent to me. This has really struck me, and was what prompted me to begin this note in the first place:

Unless you work first on increasing your capacity for, and experience of, meaningfulness, intimacy, and virtue in your present circumstances, you will most likely not find happiness no matter what other changes you make in your life. These limitations will follow you wherever you go. Happiness and fulfillment can be yours, but they must first come from within.

(Cited from The Life God Wants You to Have: Discovering the divine plan when human plans fail, Gregory K. Popcak, Ph.D.)

A sense of meaning comes from attempting to use fully the gifts we have been given for the good of others and the glory of God, in whatever circumstances we find ourselves. Intimacy is the willingness to make ourselves vulnerable for the sake of love. Virtue is a habitual and firm disposition to do the good (CCC 1803), which manifests God's presence more fully in our lives.

So much more can be said about meaning, intimacy, and virtue, and why each of these are essential for a fulfilling life (check out the book!!), but the question for now is - How am I pursuing meaning, intimacy, and virtue in the present circumstances that I am faced with? In other words, how am I seeking the fullness of life right now, regardless of my circumstances?

As an extract from the letter to the Thessalonians puts it:

Finally, brothers and sisters, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that, as you learned from us how you ought to live and to please God (as, in fact, you are doing), you should do so more and more. (1 Thessalonians 4:1)

Keep doing more and more of what you have already learnt to be pleasing unto God, and perhaps are also already doing...

Yes, there are times when God calls us to move on to new things in life. However, many times we are also called to stay put for now... In these times, will I choose to bloom where I am planted?

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