We all have anchor experiences - those people, moments, or programs that have changed us and stay with us. They have shaped us in ways that we are irrevocably different than we were before. A common marketing practice, the success path, teaches entrepreneurs to determine how an offering will change lives in order to leverage that knowledge in the process of creation and to increase sales. If people trust that the offering will change their lives, they are more inclined to buy.

Yet, it's never really about a single program, person, or experience in isolation that is life-changing or the cause for the success, but rather, it is how the Spirit is working through it all. It is the way that the Spirit has prepared a person to receive what is being offered. It is the way the Spirit is working through and inspiring the person providing the experience. It is the way the Spirit works through everyday moments, impacting everyone involved every step of the way. He knows the big picture for each unique individual - He knows past, present, future, and all the complex interactions woven together throughout time and space.

When I was in college, I had the opportunity to walk a portion of El Camino de Santiago with the Spanish Club for an extended spring break. That experience, those people, those moments have shaped me for decades. It taught me to trust. It taught me to be more adventurous. It taught me to be flexible. It taught me to persevere. It taught me to lean on community, sharing joys and sorrows of the day. It taught me to laugh in the unexpected. It changed my life.

However, it was not that moment in isolation. It was the way that it built upon anchor experiences from before (high school cross country) and after (my six labors), as well as how those connections all came together to cast a bigger picture teaching point that I could apply to navigating the journey of my life in general. He has used them all through different seasons of my life to strengthen and deepen the work He is doing in me. He has revealed when it is easy to be adventurous and when it is challenging before gently leading me towards growth through trust in His guidance and goodness. Through all that I receive, He forms me and develops my capacity to give.

Reflecting on What You Have Received

When considering your own life, I invite you to reflect upon those pivotal experiences throughout your life and consider:

• How did God prepare me?

• How did God work through those moments?

• How does God continue to deepen the graces?

• How does God weave all those experiences together?

• Have I trusted in people or programs while forgetting that my deepest trust is properly placed in the Lord?

Marketing tactics will prompt us to believe that it is a single offering that will change our lives. Zooming in on a single aspect fails to reveal the beauty of the bigger picture and the over-arching Author of the transformation. Rather than viewing the success path of individual programs as the answer, I invite you to see glimpses into the broader Spirit Path - both what you can perceive and all those small details that may be imperceptible. Notice with awe. Have a disposition of gratitude for the many ways that He reaches you directly and indirectly through other people.

Reflecting on Your Offerings

When thinking about the ways in which you support the on-going transformation of others, I invite you to remember that you are a part, serving a beautiful role, but you are not the full picture. It doesn't all depend on you. This reality can bring up many different reactions; however, one of them can be relief. Our life's work has deep meaning, but we are not responsible for everything. Instead, we are uniquely equipped to provide a part.

As St. Paul explained, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth. [...] For we are God's co-workers; you are God's field, God's building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it" (1 Corinthians 3:6, 9-10).

Continually walking with the Lord and noticing what He is revealing about how He created you and how you are uniquely positioned to love and serve at different points in your life can provide the freedom to go deep and alleviate the pressure by allowing you to find your lane with space to develop, grow, and explore over time. Lean on Him - allow Him to be your strength and acknowledge Him as the source of all you do.