Back in the spring, I was gifted a Giving Key because of a donation I made to The Purpose Hotel. I received a gift box full of wonderful goodies and one of the items was a PURPOSE key necklace. I proudly wore it and was reminded each time I looked at it, that each day is a unique opportunity to live on PURPOSE.
I lead mission trips for a living and summer time is very busy for me. I was leading three weeks of mission trips in Nashville, TN, during the month of July. On these trips we serve the homeless community and others in need in the area through service projects and simple acts of kindness.
At the end of the first week, a young 15-year-old girl named Hope stood up and shared with our group of sixty people that this mission trip week had changed her life. She shared, for the first time ever, that one year ago she was planning to commit suicide. She did not follow through with her plans, but since that time, the year had been an extremely hard one. After spending her week serving others, she was reminded that she has a PURPOSE. A year prior, when she was contemplating suicide, she felt that her life didn't matter, had no value, and that she didn't have a PURPOSE. After one short week serving others, Hope's life was forever changed by the realization that she has a PURPOSE.
After Hope shared this with our group, I looked down, through tear-filled eyes, and saw my PURPOSE key necklace. I walked over to Hope, took the PURPOSE key off my neck and placed it in her hand. As I did this, I told her that her life matters, she does have a PURPOSE, and I wanted her to be reminded of that PURPOSE everyday. So every time she looks at her necklace, she will remember that having a PURPOSE saved her life and now she can go share that news with others.
-Courtney
