"If I can’t be what they want of me, then what am I to do?" –Tarzan, as tweeted via DisneyWords
Haven't we all been there? Not wanting to disappoint anyone... Trying to fit in or even just wanting to be better than what we are? Living up to the expectations of who someone else thinks you should be or even just who they think you already are can be extremely difficult! And if it is more than one person you are trying to please you can forget about it now, it just won't be possible to please more than one person at a time.
More than the difficulty in pleasing someone else it's wrong of you to even try because in trying you deny yourself... Denying who God made you to be and who He wants you to be. I always picture myself saying "sorry God, you should have created me to have this personality trait or this sense of style, maybe with a little less of a guilty conscience... That's how Mr. Know-it-all over here would have created me and I think he's right... What you created just isn't good enough." There is NO WAY I would say that sort of thing to God if he were standing in front of me asking why I'm changing for those people around me... I wouldn't even say that sort of thing to my parents! It's like trying to hide a part of yourself because you're embarrassed but the part you're hiding is a trait your mum or dad has and they catch you in the act, I mean, really, what is there to say to that? "Yeh mum, that nose is good enough for you but I'm too pretty to have it, sorry." I know that's a dramatic comparison but is it? Really, isn't who you are more important than a nose or some other trait I've used in my analogy? YES...
When you are changing who you really are or acting how someone else wants you to act, even dressing in a style someone else wants you to dress there is the danger of losing who you are and who you are meant to be... If you even have the answer to the question of "who am I" and if not, but you are trying to be that "someone else" you think you are expected to be you will never find out who you are, how could you when you're pretending to be "someone else." You are something to be explored and in order to figure out who you are you have to explore your own thoughts, ideals, personality traits, style and preferences... You have to think with your own mind in order to know yourself.... If YOU or GOD don't like something about yourself then go ahead and change away but if it's anyone else who's wanting you to change, BE CAREFUL! We all have lots of strange little quirks but a true friend will respect and even appreciate them because those little idiosyncrasies are what makes you, well, you! "You're imperfect. Get over it, love yourself anyway" - Joseph Ranseth. And in case you've forgotten, even with those imperfections, you're fabulous!
Lastly, the God who created you, created you to be yourself not Sally around the corner... "Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you: [insert God's plan for you here]— that's what I had in mind for you." Jeremiah 1:5 He wants you to look unlike anyone else, to be comfortable in your own style... He wants you to be into that poetry and/or songwriting... He wants you to record yourself singing or draw for hours... He wants you to explore those things you like doing and give time to them because practice makes perfect and He has plans for those interests! He already knows there are countless ways He can use your ability and interests for His kingdom! If you hide any part of yourself and ignore your interests because that cute guy or your BFF don't enjoy or understand the same things then you cut off your own growth, that level of perfection will never be realized and God can't use an ability you've refused to develop because of the unwanted opinion from someone else. "You got the makings of greatness in you, but you got to take the helm and chart your own course!" -John Silver (Treasure Planet)
Neva lose your flava! "You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its flavor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled on by people." -Matthew 5:13 God put those distinctive flavors in your being because He wants to be able to use them... If we all change our interests and lock away every ability that our friends don't share then we are all only going to know how to do the same things... If we don't have a variety of abilities, interests, personalities etc. we cease to be able to progress in any area of life... If we all just know how to sing but no one is writing a new song everyone will eventually stop singing all together out of boredom.
So, basically God has made you with certain traits, interests and abilities so He can use them as part of his grand plan... If others around you tell you there should be different traits, what your interests should be or make you uncomfortable working on your abilities then maybe you should surround yourself with supportive people or at the very least tell those people "while you appreciate their opinion and willingness to share it so liberally you will only be actually hearing God's opinion..." If you've been spending too much time trying to be what is expected or trying to get interested in what you man or woman wants you to be interested in... If you've buried an ability away because your friends didn't understand why you gave time to it or if you've completely forgotten about those things you prefer whether it be your personal style, music or pottery, ANYTHING... Get back to you! Take some time out this evening, think about your life and give some time back to the areas you've given up completely or given pieces away to please others! Watch your interests develop into abilities and personality; next thing you know you will be your own person again... People will be flocking to you, not because you're going to do whatever they want but because you are interesting and they want to be part of what you've got going on!
Find your own flavor and never lose it!
No comments:
Post a Comment