My teenage years can be summed up in 2 words: K-pop.

A total fanatic, I spent most of my adolescence fangirling over boy bands. I would save up money just to attend their concerts. I was obsessed with my Korean idols because they gave me something to live for.

I also loved to hang out and catch up with my friends over meals every weekend. While there’s nothing wrong with meeting people, I soon realised that I was simply using them as a form of entertainment. It was simply a way to fill up my time.

I thought life was about surrounding myself with friends and fun. But I was never satisfied – I quickly became bored of all the temporary pleasures I enjoyed.

It began to wonder: Is chasing after temporal pleasure all there is to life? What was I was created for?

I started to strive for perfection in terms of how I looked – I was trying to match society’s standards of beauty for a sense of approval.

Yet no matter how hard I tried, I still felt lost and empty. Insecurities and inadequacies gnawed at me, but I simply pushed these negative thoughts aside – unwilling to confront the fact that I didn’t know what I was living for.

Around this time, one of my classmates began to reach out to me to attend her Church events. It took a year’s worth of persuasion before I finally agreed to attend one of them. I had never celebrated Christmas before, but I felt a great assurance that December night: I no longer needed to live a life which revolved around myself.

I had found another way. I received Christ, and my life took a complete turn: I now had joy and hope – a love that always reaches out to me. With His Love, God covered all my insecurities and all the feelings of insecurity and self-condemnation.

Thank God that I also read Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life early on as a Christian. It gave me so much clarity about what God’s purpose and destiny for us.

That was 8 years ago.

Certainly, there were dry spells and times when I felt like throwing in the towel – but God carried me through it all. He blessed with me brothers and sisters who constantly spur me on and cover me in prayer. I have overcome relational, financial and emotional struggles and I can confidently say that God brings me through every season.

And here’s the most important thing: I no longer just go through the motions – the utter drudgery of life. I’ve put my K-pop days behind me. And I know that there is so much more to living than just eating, sleeping, working – and repeating all of it!
Are you going through life aimlessly? Are you seeking for more?

Don’t shortchange yourself. Find your God-given purpose in life.

This is a submission from a participant of our Greater Love Giveaway.