When Strengths and Passions Combine

I’ve always been one of those people who does a little bit of everything. Often my activities pull me in multiple directions with minimal overlap. In high school I was a student athletic trainer and served on my youth group leadership team. My resume includes a variety of jobs including working for a local health department, on college campuses, and as an administrative assistant, not to mention as a swim lesson instructor. I’ve continued to stay involved in ministry through mentoring, in Young Life, or by leading college Bible studies.

I’ve enjoyed almost every job and ministry opportunity that has crossed my path, but with each one I’ve felt a bit like a fish out of water. I never thought those jobs used my strengths or passions.

Over a decade ago I discovered blogging. Through all my job, ministry, and hobby transitions, this one thing has been a constant commitment on my calendar. I love to communicate through writing, and blogging is the avenue I’ve found that fills my soul. Still, just as with every other pursuit, it has had very little overlap with other areas of my life.

The tension of so many independent commitments regularly required a choice. Would I develop my passion? If I did, that would take time away from ministry. At times, choosing to increase work hours meant shelving writing or ministry or both. Something was always causing friction with other things on my calendar.

Psalm 139:1–4 (ESV) says, “O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.” God knew I was running myself down. He knew my attention stretched in too many directions, and he also knew that in the depths of my heart, I longed to focus solely on writing. Better yet, he knew the path to set my feet on when I couldn’t see one existed.

For the last year and a half, I’ve been working for a fantastic virtual assistant company, where my decision to include my blogging hobby and guest-posting contributions on a company form opened the door to work for an inbound marketing agency. What started as a five-hour-a-week engagement doing administrative tasks has grown to a twenty-hour-a-week role, managing ten accounts as a content marketing manager. For the bulk of my job, I now write and edit blog posts, paid to exercise my passion. I also have the privilege of using my new strengths to help others further the words God has laid on their hearts to write! If that’s not crazy enough, the training I received opened doors to freelancing and using my skills to help some blogs (including The Glorious Table!) speak to Google and be found more easily.

For the first time I have the opportunity to work within my strengths and passions in a way I never dreamed possible. It didn’t happen overnight, but God was present the whole time. The awesome thing about Psalm 139 is that its message isn’t limited to any one person, but at the same time, because we all have unique combinations of strengths and passions, God’s work looks different for everyone.

The best part is my story isn’t unique. God has given you strengths and passions too. Embrace them, develop them, and have faith. God knows your heart. I believe when strengths and passion combine, he’s as excited as we are, because we move from feeling unsettled to a place of confidence, knowing he’s orchestrated all things for his glory and our joy.

Are you feeling stuck? I’ve been there. Join us at The Glorious Table Community. We’d love to pray for you and encourage you! Do you have a story similar to mine? Please share it so we can celebrate with you.

Beth Walker is a football coach’s wife and mom of two energetic boys. She strives to encourage those around her to pursue their best lives in Jesus whether she is near the game field, in church, or at the local coffee shop. As a writer, Beth has been striving to find her voice through seeing Jesus in the ordinary and extraordinary of daily life. She blogs at Lessons from the Sidelines.