Commentary: Cobbling Together a Purpose

I’ve been thinking a lot about purpose lately; my own purpose in life, but also our collective purpose as Americans and human beings. I’m not sure how it first started. Maybe it was turning 30, which enough to make anyone feel a little reflective. Or perhaps it is natural byproduct of the place in which I live. The District of Columbia is a notoriously ambitious place, where what you do for a living often serves as shorthand for who you are.  Undergirding this premise is the belief that some people, and some purposes, are more valuable than others.

Or maybe it’s the media. The race for the Presidency has dominated the airwaves for months over a backdrop of global conflict. The result is an endless loop of hyperbole and fear mongering from our aspiring leaders. Sometimes it feels like we are staring at ourselves through a fun-house mirror. (We can’t possibly be as hopelessly divided, intolerant, or scared as we’re being made to seem, can we?)

The problem with existential questions like this is they are difficult to answer. We look to our faith, our leaders, our mentors, even our enemies to help us define who we are and what we’re supposed to be doing, but ultimately we have to decide for ourselves.

Recently a friend shared a video with me from the SALT Project. (It’s charming. You should check it out.) In this short film author and blogger Glennon Doyle Melton describes the process of “sistering.” Sistering, for the uninitiated, is a term that comes from carpentry. As Melton explains it, it is the process through which a joist or support beam is strengthened. When the load becomes too heavy and the beam starts to weaken and sag, the carpenter reinforces it with a sister joist on either side.