This quote comes from The Chloe Chronicles, a blog I follow:
...it's never too late or...too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit; stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same... We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.
Do you hear that, friends? You can be whoever you want. I am not talking about tossing the kids and family aside because you really want to be an astronaut or something. This is about being yourself - whoever that may be. Whoever God in His sovereignty created you to be - not being trapped in whatever image or expectations other people have put on you. Or even the ones you have made up in your own head, that you just THINK others expect. I mean it - maybe no one has actually SAID that you must do thus-and-such, but you are just assuming that they are spending their valuable time worrying about how you live. Chew on that for a few minutes and get back to me.
Who are you? Are you comfortable with who you are? Are you in the relationship with God that you want? Are you following His leading in all aspects of your life? Do you have sin in your life that you are not willing to face, to repent of, to be forgiven for? Is change that scary?
Are you willing to face your doubts and insecurities? Are you willing to tell someone how you truly feel, even if could get uncomfortable? How about share a struggle, even if it might make you look bad? Are you too embarassed to tell someone that you love them?
Do you sing praises with gusto, even if you aren't much of a singer? How about lifting your hands in worship, even when you are alone?
What about when there is someone else who will see?
Are you learning the things that you want to learn - be it a new art form, a skill, a topic of study? If not - why not?
Are you meeting new people, engaging new ideas (even with people of other denominations or political persuasions - oooh, scary!), stretching your mind, learning about ideas that conflict with your own, so that you can come out stronger on the other side?
Do you dress the way you are comfortable, listen to the music you enjoy, eat the foods you like, read the books that challenge you, parent your children as God leads you - or are you following the leading of some other (fallible) person that you think knows better than you? I am not talking about issues of obvious sin - of course we want to be influenced by those who are living Godly, serving lives, who set an example for us. That is different. But do you let someone else set up extra-Biblical, legalistic boundaries for you to live in?
Do you have a "church" face, and a "family" face, and even an "extended family" face? It is not nice to make faces, you know!
Are you putting on a show for others, because you have an image that you want to project - are you trying to convince people that you are something you are not? Why? Aren't you good enough?
Do you let the opinions of others shape you to where you don't even recognize your own God-designed shape anymore?
For whatever reason, God has laid these thoughts on my heart today. I am asking myself these questions. You are just getting to hear me think out loud.
Not only is it true that we don't have to conform ourselves to the expectations that others might have for us, I think it's sometimes very hard for me to tune out the noise that I allow into my head through all the various media that are available: radio, listening to music through whatever mode, TV, internet. I allow my mind to become cluttered, either by worrying about what everyone else is saying, or by what the culture at large is saying. It takes discipline to shut out the voices and noise of the world around me and listen to what the Holy Spirit would say to me personally.
ReplyDeleteDecember 9, 2010 1:14 PM