How to Live a Meaningful LifeSample

Living a Sacrificial Life 

Most of us intend to live purposeful, meaningful lives. But what about when those plans get disrupted—either by our choices or our circumstances? Could it be that our most meaningful plans are the ones we can’t write ourselves? 

Lesley is familiar with this idea. As a teenager, she mapped out how she thought her life would go—as many of us do. But when she was in her mid-twenties, her life took a turn she never could have predicted or planned. 

It started when Lesley began volunteering at a local boys’ shelter, where she was assigned a mentee named Dakota. She discovered that he had no one to care for him—no parents or relatives. She and her family stepped in to fill in the gap—inviting him over for Thanksgiving dinner, taking him to church, and spending time with him every week. 

Along the journey, she started praying that God would make it clear if she was supposed to step in and adopt Dakota. Sure enough, months later, an opportunity arose. At 25, she became an adoptive mom to a teenager—something she never imagined, but that gave her life more meaning than she ever envisioned.

Lesley’s story is a powerful reminder that sometimes our most meaningful moments come from sacrificing what we think we want for what God wants for us. Here’s what Lesley has to say about living a sacrificial, meaningful life: 

“There’s joy in the sacrifice. Even the moments where parenting a traumatized teen is so hard that it takes your breath away, there’s still so much joy. And clearly there are things given up, but we give up things we love for things we love even more. And what we were gaining was a much larger family.” 

Lesley made a decision to keep being obedient to what God asked her to do—even when it was challenging or when she couldn’t see the whole picture. She didn’t put her faith in her plans but rather in God’s purpose, just like this proverb reminds us: 

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21 NIV 

So, what plans are you holding on to that you might need to surrender instead?

Remember: It’s okay to plan for the future. But hold your plans loosely, knowing that God’s purpose is so much higher, and He can do so much more in our stories than we ever could ourselves. 

Pray: God, thank You for doing infinitely more than we could ever ask, think, or imagine. Today I surrender all of my plans to You, knowing that You are the Author of every part of my story. I trust You. Show me how to live a meaningful life, and give me the wisdom and courage to do the next right thing You ask me to do. In Jesus’ name, amen.