When Your to Do List Takes Over Your Life

“If you don’t embrace who you are and the story you have to tell you will get lost in the story of others.  It’s only when you realize how epic, unique and set apart your story is that you are able to fully build up the story of those around you because it’s then you realize that their story is the most important part of your story!”– Mikaela Kate

Over a year ago I heard God say, “Focus on the who, not so much the what.”

My beloved to-do list had taken priority in my life, and my thirst for ticking boxes had gotten out of hand. Slowly, God began prying me off my planned weekly schedules and I began noticing the larger agenda He wanted me to pursue.

During this weaning process, I was also in hot pursuit of the greater purpose and passion He had originally put within me, discovering just what it was I wanted to do with my life.

Entering this journey, I soon realized it was less about looking inward and more about enjoying Him and those He put around me.

It actually wasn’t about discovering who I was, but rather awakening to who He’s already made me to be. The difference is small, yet massively significant.

As the months went on, and His previous words of focusing on the who rather than the what rang in my mind, and I couldn’t help but be compelled by a call that puts people above the passions and purposes I hold so dear.

The Greats Gone Before Us

As an avid reader and lover of good books (thank you Mom for instilling this in me), the books I’ve recently picked up have highlighted great men and women whose lives were closely intertwined with those around them.

Great men like J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis who were best friends, and met weekly sharing, discussing and hashing through their latest books.

Our Founding Fathers, such as Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams and John Hancock, who joined together, despite their glaringly differences in order to see a nation united.

The brave men and women of the civil rights moments like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. who boldly made a stand for their cause.

Then there is the remarkable achievements of the great men and woman, Helen Keller, Mark Twain, Alexander Graham Bell and Henry H. Rogers who linked together in order to see amazing accomplishments in the areas of the telephone, writing and advancements for the deaf.

And of course we can’t forget the Bible greats like Timothy and Paul; David and Jonathan; and Peter, James and John—all men who were clearly committed to the destinies of each other.

Embracing Your Other’s Greatness

All these names make me take a step back, and gaze my eyes outward to those God has placed around me.

These incredible individuals of the past had a larger part to play, and were divinely placed for such a time as that, and you and I are also divinely placed for such a time as this.

Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about “the shift” which is happening all around us. Prophets are declaring it, my spirit is sensing it, and my friends are talking about it.

If not careful we can get so caught up in the opportunities before each of us that we miss the greatness which is already around us.

Looking in the mirror all day long, I will have missed whose next to me, in front of me, and who else is crying out to make a wild, significant, and daring mark on this world.

So as I pursue my purpose and step out in my dreams, I am also doing my best to connect with those God has placed in my life right now.

It’s here where I am coming alive. It’s here my life finds purpose, and here where my passion burns, and a larger story unfolds.

Because it’s here where I realize that their story is the most important part of my story!

“You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful place in the world …

But it requires people to make the dream a reality.”

—Walt Disney {eoa}

Mikaela Kate is passionate to see you reach your full God-given potential! Her heart is to inspire the next generation to discover who they are and what they are made to do. There is a unique voice locked within you, and Mikaela Kate is authorized to release it! A speaker, writer and coach, Mikaela Kate has invested seven years developing college-age men and women into leaders. Conducting Bible studies, women’s groups, and young adult teams, she encourages others to go further and higher—taking their gifts, passions, and skills to the next level! A graduate of Iowa State University with a degree in marketing, she discovered her love for strategic thinking, big picture ideas, and meeting people where they are. These skills and passions later equipped her to plant a church with five other staff members (Veritas Church, Iowa City, Iowa). From there she moved to Sheffield, England and worked as the Young Adults Leader at St. Thomas Philadelphia. While in England her passion for America grew and her desire to see her native land transformed for Jesus ignited. She sees people living out their God-given purpose as a key to the transformation of this nation. Mikaela currently lives in South Carolina and is an active member of The Father’s House Church. You can reach her by email at [email protected] or on her website at mikaelakate.com.