I want to be a doctor, a singer, or a teacher when I grow up…
Those were my go to answers whenever an adult asked the question, “WHAT do you want to be when you grow up?”
Funny thing is, nobody ever thought to ask, “WHO do you want to be when you grow up?”
If asked, you might respond with words like kind, selfless, helpful, grateful …
Over the years I’ve come to realize the real answer to that question is … I’d like to be exactly ‘who’ God uniquely designed me to be … that’s who I want to be.
The ‘what’ flows out of alignment with that ‘who’ design.
I’ve long written and performed songs about the ups and downs of life and they always seem to point back to a common theme - finding meaning in life and purpose in pain.
Over time I began to see that while pain is inevitable, suffering seemed to be a choice.
After a few years of living in Nashville, TN chasing the dream of significance and influence in the country music industry, I started to sense there was something else I was supposed to use my gifts of communication for.
I spent my years in Nashville connecting with tourists by day as a backstage tour guide at the famed Ryman Auditorium and waitressing at a downtown barbecue restaurant by night. I told a lot of stories about a lot of legends and I heard a lot of stories from every day folks.
There, too, was a common theme - life isn’t easy, being human is hard, and staying human is harder.
Beyond telling my own story through my music, or telling the stories of the legends on backstage tours, my absolute favorite role is taking every day folks on tours of their very own stories … a “tour guide of the heart,” if you will.
As a Spiritual Director and Soul Care Coach I am here to walk with you, with God.
It’s pretty cool really, in one sense I get to fulfill all three childhood dreams: a singer of (bittersweet) stories, a teacher (and student) of spiritual things AND an (empathetic) doctor of the heart!
Now enough about me …
What’s your story and how does that fit into God’s bigger story? Why were you created and how have you been uniquely designed to participate in growing the Kingdom of God? What have you been uniquely designed to do? What brings you joy? What do you still need to grieve? What breaks your heart? Where are you in the journey of your soul? Are you experiencing the deep sense of meaning you were created for?
What is the next right step in experiencing greater intimacy with your Creator?
Is it music - experiencing the love of God through your ears? Check out the MUSIC button.
Maybe it’s art - feeling the warmth of His embrace through your eyes? Check out the ART button.
Perhaps it’s straight to the heart through the dance of poetry and the written word? The BLOG/POETRY button is for you.
And it just might happen that what your heart needs more than anything is to tell your story and be heard. Click the SOUL CARE button to learn more about soul care and schedule a chat! (Feel free to reach out to me at nicole@nicoleunser.com with any questions, too!)
God bless you, fellow pilgrim.