Finding Purpose in the Seasons of Life

Stay In Your Lane!

How often do we step out of our lanes and jumping into someone else’s?
You think your lane is not adequate and broad enough as your friend’s. So while on yours, instead of looking ahead and staying focus, you prefer to have your eyes on the next lane. This calls for disaster because, in this life’s race, there is no way you can be running and having your eyes on something else other than ahead of you and not trip and fall. You cannot also try to run into someone’s lane, that can subject to disqualification in certain types of relays or race. If you don’t believe me, ask the runners about this, and you’ll hear their experience.
Somehow we imagine and think that the next person’s lane is more attractive and glamorous than ours, so a quick ‘eyes off my lane’ and on my friend’s will be the best outcome in running life’s race. Sorry to say, but that’s a recipe for failure. The Bible tells us to ‘run with endurance and active persistence the race that is set before us, looking away from all that will distract us and focusing our eyes on Jesus,’ not on the next lane or your friend’s. Hebrews 12:1-2.

Growing up, my grandma usually warns us to stay in the kitchen until we finish cooking and dish out the food before we go about doing something else away from the kitchen, but we never listen to her. We thought she was just nosy. Sometimes I’ll be in the kitchen cooking, and as soon as I hear people talking aloud in the streets, or a fight going on, my eyes will be twinkling to witness the scenario. Growing up in my neighbourhood there was always something to fight about or quarrel, and as soon as I hear loud talking and shouting, I will run out of the kitchen, leave whatever is cooking on the fire and go and busybody in someone else’s affairs outside. As the saying goes ‘curiosity kills the cat.’ By the time I will return to the kitchen, either the whole stew is burnt or the rice because no one was there to look after it. Then I will begin to tremble because I know what my mum will say. That’s the same with you and me today. Most times we leave the portion set out for us and start chasing someone else’s.
Question, why do we skip out of our lanes into someone else’s? Is it curiosity or discontentment, or is it just trying to see how that other lane looks, feels and differs from yours?

Stay in your lane, as simple as it is! I am a victim of this, seriously. Sometimes I think I just need to keep quiet, stay in my lane and have my eyes on the race ahead. Turning around and looking sideways and backwards never gets anyone to win the race. Because if you’re not careful, you’ll trip and fall or have a near miss that may distract you from getting to the finish line. Well, I am going to talk about my distractions because they were just too much. Before I discovered what God was calling me to do, I wanted almost everyone’s race track. I see someone in their giftings, I want it, another one operating or flourishing in theirs, and I want it again. Girl, it’s draining wanting what others have apart from yours. You’ll barely have time to focus on how to develop yours if your eyes and mind are always on someone’s track. At times I think I just want everything, which is impossible because God made me for a distinct purpose. I thank God, for dealing with me and helping me re-align my focus on the portion He’s chiselled me.

We usually tell our children to focus on what’s theirs and be content, but we don’t. I often hear parents say ‘no, it’s not yours, you don’t go round taking what’s not yours, focus on what you have.’ How often do we focus on what’s ours as adults and parents? I think we need to stop jumping in and out of our lanes and just stay focus on the task God gave us. Sorry to disappoint you, but you can’t have everything. God made you and gave you a precise chore. So work on it, develop it, prune it and nurture it to grow and bear abundant fruits.
At times I come across this saying, ‘if only I have that type of skill, that voice sound or that kind of talent, then I can do great things.’ No, you can do great things with the ones God has given you when you focus on developing them and seeking guidance from Him to show you how.
Imagine how peaceful and beautiful it will be if everyone stays on their lanes and fulfil their purpose.
I pray that you and I will stay in that lane God has carefully carve out for us.

Are you in your lane or someone else’s?

Comments are welcome.