What brings me hope
Purpose and destiny at Destin Beach in Florida
Photo submitted
By Rosalind Tompkins
Special to the Outlook
I went to Destin, Fla., this past week for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic and it was an awe-inspiring experience.
It was like coming home after a long trip and as I looked out over the beautiful waves of the Gulf of Mexico I was struck by the steady and serene flow of the water. I imagined it was saying to me, “Hello Rosalind, I’m still here doing what I was created to do.”
I took my time and walked along the beach and thought about so many memories of times spent there during different seasons of my life. How I went there when my mother passed and how healing that was. How I took my husband there when we first met and that’s when I knew he was the one, and how I would go there and write my books.
However, this time was different. This was the first time that I went just to go. I acted and felt like a tourist and rented an umbrella and chair, sat, and looked at the water for hours. I also swam for quite a long time. I enjoyed the serenity of it all. It was a time to empty myself and prepare for what is to come.
I kept thinking about how the water continues to flow year after year. It moves but it doesn’t budge from where it is planted. It reminded me of the scripture found in Psalm Chapter 1, verse 3 that says: “He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.”
Mothers In Crisis participated in the What Women Want Expo that Cumulus held at the North Florida Fairgrounds, and it was good to run into a lot of people that I had not seen in so many years. The common thing that was said is how we have been around a long time. Then they would say my quote, “As long as there is breath in your body, there is hope.”
When I was in Destin, I thought about that as I looked out over the water and realized when you know your purpose, you can be like the ocean that moves but does not budge. Purpose brings hope and hope is the force that continues to propel you to fulfill your destiny.
Keys to finding your purpose:
- Know where you are planted.
- Know your passion.
- Know your God.
Rosalind Tompkins, Ph.D., is author of “As Long As There Is Breath In Your Body, There Is Still Hope,” and other inspirational books. Tompkins is also founder of Turning Point International Church, the Chapel of Mothers In Crisis. She’s also founder of Turning Point International Alliance with ministries and churches in Pakistan, Nepal, Eswatini, Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria, and St. Vincent in the West Indies.
