“The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out.” (Proverbs 20:5, NIV)

     Each day I arise with a pertinent question on my mind. “Lord, what can I do for you today?” It’s a question of purpose with a little “p”. By contrast to a purpose with a capital “P,” which seeks a central guiding direction and meaning to one’s life, the little purposes in life we pursue are equally impactful.

     For many of us, the little p’s are given to us. The backlog of assignments to accomplish in an employee’s inbox. The list of to-dos on the refrigerator that requires immediate repairs. The voice in your head reminding you that the grass won’t cut itself.

     Yet much of the 1440 minutes we receive each day is left up to us to determine how best to use the time we are given. And as the writer of Proverbs declares, the purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters. With so much time and opportunity available to us, how are we to determine God’s purposes throughout the day?

     But what if rather than finding our purposes from day to day, God has designed life in such a way that many of life’s smaller purposes find us? What if in those myriads of daily interruptions that we fear might detract us from God’s true calling are, in fact, God calling us?

     The phone call from a friend while you are walking out the door to purchase groceries may just be a call to pray for someone whose heart is breaking. The vagrant whom you pass on the way to work each day may be an opportunity for a brief conversation to let the person know that neither you nor God has forgotten him. That tug in your heart as you wave to a neighbor while taking a daily walk might just be a nudge to stop and listen compassionately about their recent struggles.

Recall the story of the man who walked along the beach throwing a few of the thousands of starfish that had washed onto the shore. A passerby chided the man because he couldn’t make a difference for all of the stricken starfish. While tossing another starfish back into the sea, the beachcomber quipped, “Made a difference to that one.”

     So, can you. God has designed you to make a difference in the lives of others each day. And you never know where in amidst your search to find some semblance of purpose, God’s purpose may just find and employ you to be an instrument of His saving grace.