“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

Sarah is a 32-year-old suburban housewife. Although she grew up in a Christian home, it wasn’t until her college years that she made the connection between knowing about God and really knowing him personally – or even realizing that he had a very specific purpose for her life.

She felt alive when she plugged into the “seeker service” at her local church and watched many meet God for the first time! Now, years later, while managing multiple roles – wife, mom, community volunteer, friend, women’s ministry volunteer, household engineer, chief bottle washer, kid’s taxi driver, neighbor, sister, daughter, sport’s team fundraiser – she constantly feels exhausted, unfocused, and like she is “just going through the motions.” Although she is very thankful for the relationships and opportunities to serve her family, community, and church, she is beginning to lack any sense of enthusiasm for life – and unlike her college days, she lacks clarity as to what God’s purpose is for her during this season of her life. She is tired of feeling out of sync, and she is looking for a divine urge, for a fascination in her soul.

Robyn is a 55-year-old Christian business woman. Thirty-three years with the same financial investment company has “been good to her” as she moved up the ladder from a fledging reconciliation clerk to a business analyst, manger, director, and now, a Senior Vice President. Yes, she has been blessed. But as early retirement begins to creep up on her within the next 12 months, she has become much more reflective about her life. 

Is there not something more satisfying and rewarding than the strong drive that has characterized her life, especially over the past few years? The long hours, fatigue, and hyper-connectivity to her Blackberry® have all resulted in a thinning line between her office and home life. She often finds herself daydreaming about someday making a real difference and making her life count. She wonders how to make this life-altering transition, how to find God’s unique purpose for her. She is tired of not feeling passionate about her life, and she is looking to leave a legacy that will help her feel as if she can “soar on wings like eagles” (Isaiah 40:31).

Do Sarah and Robyn need therapy or some kind of counseling? Perhaps, but not likely. But both of them would benefit greatly from life coaching.

Although life coaching is a cutting-edge and rapidly growing field, I often get asked, “What exactly is a life coach?” We can sometimes complicate things by thinking that life coaching should be difficult and that it takes years of schooling to understand. It isn’t and it doesn’t. We can also think that a life coach is the client’s therapist, mother, or new best friend. She is not. In the simplest terms, a life coach is a conversationalist – one skilled at conversations.

To carry that even further, Christian life coaching is a series of heartfelt, Holy Spirit-driven, woman-to-woman or man-to-man conversations, whether written (email or old-fashioned letter) or spoken (face-to-face or over the phone) about God’s purpose for one’s life and how that affects every possible domain of life (personal, family, faith, vocation, and community).

Finding one’s purpose is the most important aspect of coaching. When a Christian life coach helps her client discover God’s unique purpose for her life, then together they can align her goals, dreams, strategies, and action plan to allow her to best fulfill her calling and reach her greatest potential in Christ! And, watch out – a client-coach combo that clicks deeply, heart-to-heart, is an unstoppable force that can work together for months or years, accomplishing God’s will.

Both Sarah and Robyn know deep inside that there is “something missing” in their life. But… they are unsure just how to sift through the details and demands of their everyday schedules in order to bring clarity, focus, and direction to their daily steps.

How could they benefit from a coaching partnership? Through a series of conversations with a Christian life coach, and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they would, among other things, be able to…

 …discover what exactly in their life is causing them to feel out of sync

…learn to do “today’s purpose” – today – with great joy

…define their heart’s desire and the contribution they want to make

…design a strategy and a plan that will assist them in achieving their goals

…and have an ongoing accountability relationship to help them navigate successfully through life’s transitions.

Everyday, I receive emails, cards, and phone calls from people across America and around the world whose lives have been dramatically challenged and changed by going through a life coaching process. Without a doubt, there is nothing more exciting than to journey with others as they begin to “connect the dots” to discover and fulfill God’s plans and purposes for their life! If God has been nudging at your heart to be a life coach, don’t delay. You will be blessed immeasurably.

Reprinted from EWomen Magazine, Volume 2, Issue 1 with Permission

Katie Brazelton, PhD, MDiv, MA, Founder of Life Purpose Coaching Centers International®, is a professor at Rockbridge Seminary and bestselling author of the Pathway to Purpose for Women series, each book being translated into three to ten languages. Katie, who is often a featured radio and television guest, was Director of Women’s Bible Studies and a licensed minister for years at the purpose driven Saddleback Church. To read about her dream of opening 200 Life Purpose Coaching Centers worldwide, please visit her website: www.LifePurposeCoachingCenters.com, or email her at Info@LifePurposeCoachingCenters.com.