Finding Purpose When It Doesn't Make Sense

Posted by: Keno, Midday Host/Digital Media Producer | Monday, August 3rd, 2026 ( 9:00am)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will direct your paths.—Proverbs 3:5-6

Have you ever looked back over your life and thought, Oh...that's why that happened!

I have. Many times!

The funny thing is, while I was living it, it all just seemed random. But as they say, life is often lived looking forward and understood looking backward.

Growing up, born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, I didn't think much about the multicultural neighborhood I lived in, the schools I attended, or the fact that my friends and I came from different backgrounds. I didn't think much about my taste in music either. One minute I was listening to hip-hop and R&B. The next it was pop, rock, jazz, country, Gospel, CCM, even classical music. I just had an eclectic taste in music.

After high school, I moved to Chicago to study television and radio broadcasting. That's where I got my start. Chicago radio shaped me as a broadcaster. The creativity, the storytelling, the connection between a host and the listener, and even the art of making people want to hear what came next became the standard I still strive for today. It taught me that people don't just remember what you say, they remember how you make them feel.

Then there were the things I never would've put on a résumé. The things that didn't seem important at the time. The things I never imagined God would use. Growing up my Uncle Jerry, who had Down syndrome, lived with our family for many years after my grandmother passed away. Spending time with him wasn't something unusual to me; it was just part of everyday life.

Later, during the years my mom was in a nursing home, I found myself doing more than just spending time with her. I'd often stop and talk with other residents too. One of them, Joyce, would ask me to read Scripture and pray with her. At the time, I was simply trying to encourage someone who needed it. Looking back, I realize God was teaching me how to slow down, listen, and simply be present with people.

Years later, while working at an alternative education school, I was transferred to work with students with special needs. If I'm honest, I didn't want that assignment. I didn't think that's where I belonged, and I didn't understand why I was being moved into an area I hadn't signed up for. Looking back now, I understand exactly why. Today, meeting listeners and families with special needs feels completely natural. It doesn't intimidate me because it already feels familiar. It feels like family. The same is true when I spend time talking with many of our older listeners.

At the time none of these experiences seemed connected. However, now I realize through every one of them God was preparing me for something I couldn’t yet see. He was teaching me how to love and connect with people long before I knew how many people I’d one day have the opportunity to love and connect with.

Here's the part that still amazes me. For years, I prayed that God would open a door for me to work full-time doing one of the things in life I loved most... radio. For a couple of years, I drove to a job that I knew wasn't where I wanted to stay long-term. Every single day, during those years, I drove right past WCSG along my drive to work. I had no idea that one day I'd walk through these doors.

Today, I can't help but smile. God wasn't just preparing me for a job. He was preparing me to love the people He would place in my path. Maybe that's why sharing everyday life on the radio has always come so naturally. Whether it's talking about common frustrations, telling the story of a bird that somehow ended up flying around my house, or opening up about life's more difficult moments, I've found that the ordinary things often become what people connect with most. Long before He ever placed me behind this microphone, He had been shaping my heart for the people on the other side of it.

I wonder how many things in your life don't make sense right now. Maybe you're in a season that's confusing. Maybe you're wondering why you're where you are. Maybe you're wondering if any of it even matters. Can I encourage you? Just because you can't see the purpose today doesn't mean there isn't one. God has a way of connecting dots that we don't even realize He's drawing until we look back. And when He does, the picture is usually far more beautiful than anything we could have imagined.

So don’t be discouraged. Maybe you're standing in the middle of a chapter that doesn't seem to fit. Wondering why God has you where He has you. But sometimes, we don’t understand because we’re standing in the middle of the story. God is the author. He already knows how every chapter fits together. Trust that one day you'll look back and realize He wasn't wasting a single experience. Not the easy ones. Not the difficult ones. Not even the ones that seemed completely unrelated. He was quietly shaping your heart for something you couldn't see yet.