Would Rick Warren approve?

I've finally responded to a challenge issued a few weeks ago to write a personal purpose statement - to put on paper the reason that I was created. I don't know what it was so hard. I think, primarily, it is my need to "live up to" my purpose. I felt as if any "calling" requires personal perfection before it can even be spoken, much less written.

Here I am, though. A more broken vessel you will not likely find, yet I do have a purpose. I've known it for a time because in those instances where I embrace it, people respond. I don't mean that they respond to me, per se, they respond to the words I say which point beyond me. I am, in essence, a shepherd. I exist to guide, to lead, to teach and train. It's really as simple as that, but I'm even shaking while typing it. It's too much. Can it be true? It has to be true. I can make excuses all I want, but something happens when I get into that guiding role. Things click. It's as if God says "OK, now that you're here, get out of the way and put me on display."

It has taken me the better part of thirty years to come to this point, but I feel a huge weight lifting. I don't have to search anymore. I don't have to wonder anymore. I don't have to apologize anymore for ending up in this role time after time. It's why I'm here. It's why I care so much about seeing people thrive around me. I'm a shepherd, plain and simple.

Time is the great equalizer. Given unlimited time, it would be possible to do every good thing without sacrificing any other. We don't have that. We have a series of moments that scream "Choose, choose, choose" and we're faced with only one chance to do something that we hope is right. Then there's no time to really consider that because the next screaming moment is right behind it. It must be considered the mark of a wise man, then, to choose the right thing moment after moment.

Sometimes, I consider myself wise. I've taken the "assessments" that say so. I find, though, that too many moments leave me paralyzed - unable to choose - simply watching the moments pass, wasted. Sure, there are days when I catch a glimpse of eternal purpose and make choices that echo wisdom, but too many are simply reactions to the previous moment.

Could I ever be considered wise? Does a wise man know his own wisdom, or is it the mark of wisdom to be always wary. Does wariness indicate humility or ugly doubt?

In the moments it took to type these words, I chose to push every key. Each second could have been spent doing an almost inifinite number of other things. How, then, can I evaluate?