The past few months, I’ve taken more time to indulge one of the favorite activities—reading for pleasure. I love a good story, and I’ve found many books over the years that I read again and again. But sometimes, the mind craves something fresh, so lately I’ve been reading books by authors who are new to me.

I have always had a soft spot for stories based on fairy tales, and I’ve found several lately that have some relation to Beauty and the Beast. There is something deeply moving in the Beauty and the Beast tale that I love to see played out in new stories—the bravery of a young woman taken from her home, the pain of a man wounded by his own vanity, and the power of redeeming love.

I’ve enjoyed reading these books, but I’ve been frustrated at times, too. All the authors succeeded in creating fascinating new worlds and sympathetic main characters, but some of them missed one of the most important elements of good story-telling. The main character of the story should have a purpose. They should have a goal—something they want to achieve to change the difficult circumstances of their story and find a happy ending.

In some stories, the main character just reacts to her circumstances. Something bad happens—she reacts. Something threatens her—she reacts. Her new situation is beyond her control—she feels sorry for herself and waits for something else to change. She may act bravely or selflessly at times when she’s forced to act, but she has no end goal in sight other than to someday be happy or be free. Because she fails to form a goal and actively work toward changing her circumstances, the story lacks power.

Does that sound like anyone you know in real life? Could I be describing your own life?

So many people go through life without having a real purpose—an end goal. Even Christians can fall into that trap. We want to be happy. We want to be safe, to have enough money, to have fun, to take care of our families. We work to make ourselves as comfortable as possible in our current circumstances, and we make some plans for the future. But we don’t think much about the end of the story. Do we know what the “happily-ever-after” of our story should look like or what we can do to achieve it?

If getting to heaven is our end goal, we can do whatever our religious convictions tell us is needed to get there. If we’ve said the “sinner’s prayer,” been baptized into the church, followed the rules, and generally lived a good life, we can sit back and concentrate on our current happiness. But what if there’s more to the story than that? What if we’ve been called to be part of a bigger story that has a bigger end-goal than just our individual comfort and eternal security?

The Bible tells us that God has a purpose, and we have been given a part to play in accomplishing that purpose:

“I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please’” (Isaiah 46:10).

“In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will” (Ephesians 1:11).

And he gives his guarantee that the end of the story will be good:

“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).

So, what is your purpose? If you aren’t sure, this would be a good time to ask. Pray about it. Read your Bible. Learn all you can about God’s bigger story and the part you can play. Then find one thing God is asking you to do and do it. If you want a life of purpose, that's the best way to begin!
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When I started writing this blog post, I was sitting by myself on the last day of a Christian writers conference in Colorado. The previous three days had been filled with workshops on writing and marketing, one-on-one appointments with publishers and agents, worship sessions, and chatting with new acquaintances. Like most conferences I’ve attended, there were ups and downs as my writing was sometimes praised and sometimes criticized. I was tired that day, and I was depressed.
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One of the challenges I had been given during the week was to rewrite the bio on my website—the “about the author” piece that allows readers to get to know the real person behind the site. I have two websites, one to promote my new book (not yet in print) and one to promote my previous writings. I’ve kept the two websites separate on purpose. Nowhere on my new website (this website) is there a link to my other site. I never talk about my other books or writing credits, and my bio consists of a short paragraph which says very little beyond my limited qualifications to write the new book.

I had even asked several people for advice on whether I should publish my new book under a pseudonym (a fake name) or just my initials (J. L. Ruth) so people wouldn’t know I was the author of three books which were self-published, had few sales, and received only a handful of reviews (including a one-star review for my novel which begins, “This is the most poorly written novel I have ever read”). I was wondering if I should start fresh and reinvent myself, ignoring the twenty years I had already put into trying to be a professional writer.

As I tried to rewrite my bio, starting and discarding seven or eight drafts, I began to feel very small and insecure. What could I say about myself? I could list the things I used to be: a trial and appellate attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office (which I left 26 years ago); a staff attorney for the Department of Veterans Affairs (which I left 23 years ago); an adjunct college professor teaching criminal justice classes (which I left 17 years ago). I could include a long list of part-time, short-term volunteer positions I held during the years I was primarily a stay-at-home mom. But “mostly stay-at-home mom” didn’t sound very impressive, and now that my children are both adults, I can’t even claim that title.

It occurred to me, though, that the story of my life is what it is, no matter how hard I try to dress it up or hide it away. More importantly, I am not the author of my life’s story. God is.

In Psalm 139:16, David proclaims, “all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” What David realized about his own life is true of mine as well. God is the author of my life’s story. I’ve made my own choices along the way, some good and some not so good, and I have to live with the consequences of those decisions. But God has had his hand in it the whole time. Because I am his, my story is not about failure, but about purpose, even if I don’t always see it that way.

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).

“For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13).

“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).

My story isn’t over yet. Whether it continues on its current path or takes a turn for the better or the worse, I need to trust God to work out the story according to his plan. One of the things I learned at the conference is to “take the next best step.” Maybe I’ll start by finally rewriting my bio.

​Avengers: Endgame steamrolled into theaters last weekend, shattering box office records. One news announcer called it “a cultural community event” – which is a fancy way to say a WHOLE LOT of people were united in their desire to experience this final chapter of the Infinity Stones saga. In the theater I was in opening night, we didn’t just watch the movie. We laughed, gasped, cheered, and cried together. It really was a community event.
 
However, not everyone was happy with the movie. Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and Facebook were full of people voicing their disappointment, or even outrage, at certain aspects of the movie. Some didn’t like the science (as if time travel really has any science behind it). Some didn’t like the character development. Some people even complained about the amount of effort Marvel put into keeping the story secret until the movie opened. Even the actors in the movie didn’t know the whole story line until they went to the movie premiere. Each actor was only given enough of the script to do their scenes. The rest remained a mystery.
 
I have to admit I went to the movie with certain expectations about the story, but about a half-hour into the three-hour movie, I turned to my daughter and said, “I didn’t see that coming.” For the remainder of the movie, I threw out my expectations and watched eagerly to see how it would all turn out. Personally, I thought it wasn’t a great movie, but it was a really good one.
 
Expectations can be tricky. If you believe something is going to turn out a certain way and it doesn’t, you will probably be bummed. On the other hand, going through life with no surprises would be pretty dull. Not knowing what’s coming can be exciting, but it can also be anxiety-inducing, which is why most of us try to keep surprises in our lives to a minimum. Unfortunately, that can also mean never taking risks, never going outside our comfort zones, and never trying anything new. It’s safer that way—but also boring. And it limits our opportunities to be used by God for his purposes in this world.
 
Just think of all the characters in the Bible who were pulled outside their comfort zones and asked to live their lives opposed to all their expectations. Abraham. Joseph. Moses. Gideon. Esther. Ruth. David. Mary. And every one of Jesus’ disciples. They didn’t get what they expected from life—and we should be thankful for that!
 
Sometimes we don’t get what we expect from life (or from movies). But how we respond to life’s surprises can show us the most important thing about our lives. As Christians, we are called to live a life of faith—trusting God no matter what comes our way. I’ve learned from personal experience that I can’t trust God to give me everything I want. And I can’t trust him to give me everything I expect or hope for. But I can trust him to give me everything I need to do what he has called me to do.
 
Sometimes, I may have to throw out my expectations about what I think God is doing in my life and in my world. I have to sit back and watch the story unfold. But I’m one of the characters in God’s master story—just like all those Bible characters I mentioned above. You are one, too. So when we see a chance to jump into the action, we need to do it. Even if we can’t be sure what to expect from it. We have to trust that the Author of the story will do what he has promised and work it all out for good in the end.