Do You Have a Pulse?

I studied nursing in college. One of the first things the nursing program professors taught us was the importance of assessing a patient’s “ABCs”, which stood for Airway, Breathing and Circulation. When assessing patients, we had to determine quickly if they had an open Airway, one that would allow the passage of air into, and back out of, their lungs. Next, we had to ascertain if they were Breathing. Could we see their chest rise and fall with each breath? Could we feel or hear the air moving in and out of their nose or mouth? Third, we had to confirm that the patients had adequate Circulation, or in other words, a Pulse. You can gain a wealth of information by assessing the quality of a person’s pulse. Is it fast or slow? Is it strong or thready? Is the pulse regular or beating in a wildly erratic rhythm? The only observation a nurse doesn’t want to make is that there is no pulse. A heart that stops beating is a heart that is incompatible with life.

I am a TODAY SHOW fan. It is very rare that I am afforded the opportunity to watch an entire morning of TODAY news, special interest stories, cooking segments, and surprise audience makeovers. But I watch when I can. I have grown to love the personalities that greet me from my TV in the morning as I get ready for work. Last Friday, I watched with interest as TODAY said good-bye to Kathie Lee Gifford, one of their fourth hour co-hosts. Kathie Lee had made the decision to move on from her morning TV hosting duties to pursue her dream of making music and movies. I was fascinated as a proverbial list of who‘s who in celebrities was paraded through that final show hour. Each guest wished Kathie well via surprise appearances and video packages. But the most touching of all was a video interview segment of Kathie’s two children, Cody and Cassidy. They spoke of their mom with such love and respect. Cody said that they were often asked what it was like to have such a legend as a mom. His response was, “We didn’t know her as Kathie Lee, the legend. We just knew her as a legendary mom.” But the standout quote of the morning came from Cassidy, Kathie Lee’s daughter and youngest child with former football great, Frank Gifford. When questioned about the best advice that her mom had ever given her, Cassidy responded without missing a beat, “If you still have a pulse, you have a purpose.”

Those words! They took my breath away. Who hasn’t felt adrift in the sea of “What is my purpose”? I think we all have asked ourselves this question at various times in our lives: High School Graduation. College Graduation. Post-Divorce. Post-Job Loss. Widows and Widowers. Empty-Nesters. Post-Retirement. Mark Twain very wisely once said, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born, and the day you find out why.”

My thoughts about purpose have changed over the years. When I was younger, I used to think that there was one singular thing, one clearly-defined purpose that I was created to accomplish or contribute to this world.  Early on, I struggled to define that one thing. As the years have passed, my understanding about purpose has evolved. What if, just as the seasons of our lives change, perhaps our purpose for those seasons change with them? The dictionary defines the term “purpose” as the reason that someone or something exists. Ann Voskamp has been quoted as saying “You were made for the place where your real passion meets compassion, because there lies your real purpose.”

But what about when our purpose gets tangled in comparison with someone else’s? What if their purpose seems more exciting, more noble, more high-profile or more worthwhile than mine?

I don’t enjoy running. As a matter of fact, if you ever see me running it is going to be because someone or something dangerous is chasing me. But I have several friends who are runners. Much of their time is spent focusing on 5Ks, 10Ks, half-marathons, full marathons, and training runs. Most of them never win the races they enter. But that fact doesn’t discourage them because they aren’t running to compete against the other runners. They are focused on running THEIR race, beating their own personal record set in their prior race outings. Hebrews 12:1 references runners in a race. It urges these runners to throw off all of the extra weight that may slow them down, and encourages the athletes to run THEIR race with the endurance of a marathon athlete.

Purpose is like that. Bob Goff says, “We won’t be distracted by comparison if we are captivated by purpose.” Figure out where your passion and your compassion meet, and your purpose will be right around the corner. Maybe your purpose is to be a stay-at-home-mom. Maybe your purpose is to open your home to at-risk kids. Maybe your purpose is to foster abused animals, or coach a kids’ baseball team, or volunteer at a local food bank. Maybe your purpose is to always be the kindest person in the room, or to simply love people…all people. You get to decide. But if you have a pulse, you have a purpose. Don’t waste another heartbeat.