From One Simple Life to Another

Are you who you want to be?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately.  Interesting that many, many months ago…maybe even years ago – I heard this Switchfoot song that has this line “This is your life, are you who you want to be?  Is it everything you dreamed that it would be when the world was younger and you had everything to lose?”  The words impacted me then……. and now. 

This is my life – am I who I want to be?  Am I who GOD wants me to be?  And, if I’m not – then what do I do about it?  In my last blog, I admitted that I feel like I have not been faithful in listening to God and following His direction.  Today, I want to look not only at the question “am I who I want to be?”...but highlight how easy it is for us to get locked into what we know and forget what our dreams were or what God’s plan may be for us.  Is our life everything we dreamed it would be?  Let me start with that question.

When I was young and dreamed about my life – I remember wanting to be an artist, maybe a commercial artist living in New York City.  No thoughts of family or kids, houses, dogs or faith.  Thinking back on that I think it’s funny that I realize now…those dreams really didn’t include others in my life.  How thankful I am that God had another plan that included filling my life with a husband, children and most importantly…Him!!!  Are there days when I could pull my hair out and I’m tired of hearing the word “mom” or the words “can you” or “I need”??  Absolutely and are there days that doing the right thing and making tough choices based on Gods’ word is hard?  You bet, I’d be a liar if I said anything else – but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.  So, even though my life may not be what I thought it would be when I was younger – it’s pretty awesome.

But.....if I let myself really dream about what my desires are for the future and pray for God's direction - AM I who I want to be?  Is there something more that my life could be?  If my life is good right now - could it be great? Am I doing anything to get there?  These are all great questions for me (and you).

Eph 3:20-21 (NIV) "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, accoring to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen

This is one of my favorite verses because it reminds me that God's plan is so much bigger than mine.  I think pften we sell ourselves short of living the life God designed for us to live because we get “stuck”.  I guess this is very similar to the basic idea of my last post but it just seems to keep coming up over and over and over.  I want to live the abundant life God has planned.  I don’t want to get stuck in the everyday and wake up one day realizing that most of my life is gone and I’m still doing the same old thing.  I don't want to get to the end of my life and realize that I was not who I could have been.  I want to go out and do things, impact the world, and share God’s love.  I want to live that life where God is doing immeasurably more than I can even imagine.  What about you?

I’m going to be brutally honest here…today I had a plan to get certain things done and get in front of my computer to do some writing.  It did not happen.  There were too many other things that got my attention.  Some of them absolutely necessary and others…maybe not so much – well, definitely not so much!!  I think my next blog should be titled “I’m a procrastinator” because it’s easy for me to get distracted by the little things.  I’m guessing I’m not the only one.  This idea might seem a little like a rabbit trail leading off to nowhere but I think it’s important.  Part of getting “unstuck” is looking at what we do each day.  Is it productive and honoring to God’s kingdom?  Many times the answer is yes.  When we as wives and mothers care for our family and their needs we are honoring Gods plan.  Fathers who provide for their families – absolutely.  When we mindlessly watch TV or play on the computer – maybe not.  There is so much we miss in todays world because of the distractions (and there are SO many).  So I invite you to join me in looking at how we spend our time and to begin dreaming again. 

Colossions 3:17 (NIV) “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Are you who YOU want to be?  Better yet – are you who GOD wants you to be?