Maybe, Said the Farmer

 My son took a bad fall in Germany this past summer and ended up hospitalized for  a week; this brought our vacation to an abrupt end. He was very depressed for a couple of months and has had to give up his favorite sport. But, this has given him a chance to pursue singing and theater. I also remind him how lucky he is to be alive and how his accident could've sent a message about our plans to traverse the hundreds of miles of semi-dangerous (or so I've been told) roadways in Norway. Although we don't always (ever?) understand why things happen, they still happen and maybe even for a purpose. Looking for that "purpose" is often futile and leads nowhere. 

I don't think one's purpose is necessarily found by "looking" for it.  
As an example:  My sister (Julie) has spent a lifetime "looking" for something (happiness) and someone (a husband) without (to her satisfaction) success.  Like seeking the pot of gold at the rainbow's end, she never finds it.  There are no "pots of gold" to be had in this world.  Happiness (as we know it) is an illusion.
Seek, first, the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all other things (joy/peace) will follow YOU.