untitled

be yourself. maybe you've heard it hundreds of times. or maybe no one has ever said it directly to you but i'm telling you now: be yourself.

it is painful to watch someone who is not being themselves. is it something you notice?

it is painful to watch people trying to keep up to other people, trying to be like someone else or become more like so-and-so. even when people try to imitate photographs i find it painfully obvious. don't pose and try to be like someone else, just do your own thing.

it is painful to interact with a person who is clearly pretending to be something they're not, not speaking in their voice, and liking or doing things they don't actually like or desire to do. ultimately it seems that it stems from fear, insecurity, jealousy or not knowing who you are.

whether you're starting from scratch or not, know that you are a child of God. there was a point when i was 18 that it really hit me and it changed my life for the best.

i am the daughter of the high king of heaven, the one who created the earth and knit me together before i was born. way back before my parents even knew each other or knew they'd have a daughter (or that they'd be so blessed to get one this dang good. wink.) together - God knew me and had a plan for me and the same is true for you.

"I know Who goes before me, I know Who stands behind. The God of angel armies is always on my side.The One who reigns forever, He is a Friend of mine, The God of angel armies is always by my side. Whom shall I fear?" [Chris Tomlin]

and for the pain of watching someone who isn't being themselves, oh there is the joy of the other side of the story! oh the joy of being with people who are at ease with themselves and are happy to be who they are. the contagiousness of their spirits and the things they are passionate about. when i'm with them my eyes are opened to new things, i laugh a  lot, my dreams start to grow and so does my joy.

there isn't a trace of bitterness or envy getting in the way, it's just nothing but the good stuff.

i like everyone but i'd say i am a little partial to artists. i love watching people who are creative do their thing and really do it. i like the ones who are being original. i don't care about imitations. i don't want to look at the people doing knock-offs and copying without giving credit where it is due. i want the real thing. i love fresh creativity.

of course there are many other parts of life besides the arts. and you are called to an original role. it is not a repeat role or an imitation, it's an original. for all the narcissism in the world, we're still really good at trading in our dreams and settling for half ass attempts at things and not being who we really are.

on sunday, someone on the radio was telling the story that an older man - who we will call nigel - passed on to him. nigel was advanced in years ... um, okay this isn't an old testament story of someone getting knocked up, no idea why i phrased it like that, but moving on ... nigel was old, but this story still brought tears to his eyes when he told it to the radio guy.

it was a story about when he was 12 years old and decided to go play basketball with his older brother and the guys from the neighborhood. nigel's mom told him it was the worst idea he'd ever had. they take free throw shots to see who will get to be the team captains and nigel is a horrible shot, one the first guys out. the competition continues until finally nigel's older brother is the last man left and gets to be the captain with the first pick.

and you can probably guess what's coming. instead of picking any of the great players, big brother stuck his arm out and pointed right at nigel and said, "i pick you, nigel. i want you on my team first." nigel was so overwhelmed he started to cry and big brother just put his arm around his shoulder and let him cry it out while the rest of the team was picked.

for the rest of his life that story impacted nigel and he never forgot what it felt like to be chosen. who knows how much of a springboard it was for his confidence and future success, or how many people he told it to that were then impacted, but he told it to radio guy who admitted he has passed it along several times since he heard it 10 years ago. the story gripped me.

i scribbled these notes into my journal as soon as i pulled into the parking lot at work ...
- when you are chosen it affects you at a deep level. you remember the feeling of being chosen.
- God chooses you.
- none of us are born as spectators; you either live into that chosenness or you abandon it.

i believe in you 100% and know if God chose you - which He did - you have great things ahead, regardless of what lies behind you. you have great things in the here and now so long as you choose them. i hope you choose to be yourself, because the world needs you.