The Purpose of Faith

Sally Breen discusses her father's journey to find his purpose in life and the peace that came with embracing faith.

Questions for Discussion and Personal Reflection

  1. How many places have you searched for your purpose?
  2. Have you ever witnessed a transformation like the one Sally saw in her father?

I am absolutely certain that life has a purpose beyond what we create for ourselves. But I grew up in a household that wasn't full of faith; it was a faithless household. I wasn't raised by people who believed in Jesus and God and all that, and so I was able to see first-hand, um— my father was a massive influence in my life. He was an amazing, wonderful, incredible father who loved me completely. I knew absolutely for certain that he loved me. But I also knew absolutely for certain that he had no idea what his purpose was in life. He was clueless, and I saw him look in hundreds of directions. He looked into all sorts of religions and all sorts of other stuff as to try and find his purpose. And I found my purpose when I was a tiny, little girl, when I was a little girl and I was sent to church, and I found something that made my life purposeful. And he knew that I had it even though I was way younger than him, and he knew that he didn't have it. And I saw him searching, and I saw the fact that he was lost and alone, even though he was part of a loving family and then I saw him change. I saw him just change, and he was 64 years old. And he had no reason to change at that point. He'd given up looking. He tried everything, and I saw the peace that he received, um, when he found his faith, and I mean, that's the reason that I have this briefcase. This briefcase is from my father. It's, it's an old, battered, old briefcase that he took to work every day, and everyday I believe that he thought that he would find purpose in the work that he did. And every day he came home empty, and I love this because this is just a symbol of the fact that, um, I was able to help in his journey to faith, but he was able to help me grow, and I love the fact that I now have given this to my son, who's 22 years old, and he loves this cool, trendy briefcase. But it's like the passing on of those family things makes all the difference.