Finding a purpose in where you are

Finding a purpose in where you are The character Father Guido Sarducci (a/k/a comedian Don Novello) sometimes offered this piece of advice: 鈥淲herever you go, there you are.鈥澨�

That pseudo-aphorism always got a laugh, but I鈥檝e found more than an atom of truth in it: many times, I鈥檝e found myself in a location or a situation that鈥檚 left me wondering, 鈥淲hy am I here?鈥�.听

When I first moved back to Vancouver, newly called into Ministry, I had a distinctly different idea of where I was supposed to be going. I told my previous boss I wanted to be a Christian talk-show host. Since I got hired next by a Christian TV station, I figured I was on that track.听

But that job didn鈥檛 pan out, and back in radio, I found myself walking to the radio station along Granville Mall late at night. I would run a gauntlet of panhandlers. Usually, I didn鈥檛 have any money for them and I felt guilty, until I heard the Lord say, 鈥淭hese people don鈥檛 need money. They don鈥檛 need programs. They need Me. They need My Son. And I want you to tell them.鈥�

Soon after, I wandered into Rainbow Mission near Oppenheimer Park, thus beginning ten years of ministering on the Downtown East Side. It was not what I expected. It was certainly not in any 鈥減lan鈥� I had for my life. But it was exactly where I was supposed to be.

Recently, we were on a cruise to Sydney, Australia. Two days out of Vancouver, there was a medical emergency. We couldn鈥檛 turn back, so we ran full speed to Honolulu, arriving a day early. We bought a transit pass, took a cheap tour of the city and were heading back to the dock in the evening when we passed what appeared to be a homeless man, sitting on the sidewalk. I was moved to go back. I pulled out a five-dollar bill and gave it to him, mumbling, 鈥渢he One I work for wants me to give you this little picture of Abe Lincoln.鈥�

鈥淗e鈥� turned out to be a wizened 50-something Vietnamese woman. In her broken English, she said she had no home, and her family were all dead, including her son. She tried to give back the five-spot. She talked for a while more and let me pray over her.

Did that do her any good? At the least, someone listened to her story. Now, what if there hadn鈥檛 been that emergency and we鈥檇 arrived in Honolulu as scheduled? We would have had our planned shore tour and sailed away that night. And the night before, that woman would have sat there, all alone, forgotten, hidden in plain sight. As it was, we were where we were supposed to be 鈥� when we were supposed to be there.

The Gospels tell us about Jesus, setting out in a boat with His disciples. A storm comes up, and after Jesus calms it, they seem to have been blown off-course. When they land, a demon-possessed man immediately rushes them. Jesus heals the man and dispatches the demons.听

Whatever plans the disciples might have had for the boat trip got completely upended; yet they wound up exactly where God meant them to be.

Have you ever found yourself in an unexpected situation? It doesn鈥檛 have to be a听产补诲听situation 鈥� just one that wasn鈥檛 in your 鈥減lan鈥�. Yet hasn鈥檛 it turned out that you were in the right place at the right time?

Wherever you go 鈥� there you are. The trick is to remember to say, 鈥淥K, Lord 鈥� now what?鈥� Soon enough, He鈥檒l tell you.

Finding a purpose in where you are Drew Snider听is a former pastor at Gospel Mission on Vancouver's Downtown East Side, and has been a guest speaker at churches in BC.听