Most of
my life, I've thought of myself as being pretty special. Like many of my
peers, I was one of only two children; I took self-esteem lessons in my grade
one classroom; I watched TV shows that encouraged me to dream big and was
taught by teachers who said I could be anything in the world. In short, I
belong to generation Y. We are special.
Yet, in recent days I have become tired of being special because it requires that I be smarter, stronger, and faster than most other people. Since we can’t all be the best, specialness is an attitude which drives us to continual competition and busyness. If we slow down, we might fail. We might not change the world. We might not be “the best we can be.”
I have
often compared my specialness with something else I learned at a young age: God
loves each and every one of us. The same.
Now this is something I’ve always found hard to believe. If God loves the stranger
as much as God loves me, then I am not special. I am just normal. And that has
generally been more than my special-gifted-world-changing self could handle.
Until now.
Not only am I finally old enough to realize that I’m no more awesome and world-changing than anyone else, but I’ve become tired of always trying to be one step ahead of myself, always trying to prove to a non-existent audience that I’m really making the most of my life and being the best I could possibly be. As it turns out, I would prefer to be normal, to work and play and love as any other person would. Perhaps what is special is simply life itself; not trying harder or doing better, but simply doing life.
And another thing. I’ve noticed that God chooses to use people who are not special at all with remarkable frequency. Was Moses changing the world when God called him from his sheep? Was Jeremiah being the best he could be when God told him to become a great prophet? Was Mother Teresa particularly special when God sent her to Calcutta to care for his children there? No. God does not ask us to be special, or to change the world, or even to be our very best.
Then what does God ask us for? Our faithfulness. It sounds like such a little thing! Yet it is because they were faithful to what God called them to that the people we call heroes did the things they did. In essence, they said “yes” to God, not in grand things but in little things. Saying yes to God- faithfulness- happens every day. It happens at work, on the street, with our families, and (especially for those who are always busy) in rest. Because God asks for our very normal human lives, not our awesomeness :)
Yet, in recent days I have become tired of being special because it requires that I be smarter, stronger, and faster than most other people. Since we can’t all be the best, specialness is an attitude which drives us to continual competition and busyness. If we slow down, we might fail. We might not change the world. We might not be “the best we can be.”
 |
| My puppy- who has never minded just being normal! |
Not only am I finally old enough to realize that I’m no more awesome and world-changing than anyone else, but I’ve become tired of always trying to be one step ahead of myself, always trying to prove to a non-existent audience that I’m really making the most of my life and being the best I could possibly be. As it turns out, I would prefer to be normal, to work and play and love as any other person would. Perhaps what is special is simply life itself; not trying harder or doing better, but simply doing life.
And another thing. I’ve noticed that God chooses to use people who are not special at all with remarkable frequency. Was Moses changing the world when God called him from his sheep? Was Jeremiah being the best he could be when God told him to become a great prophet? Was Mother Teresa particularly special when God sent her to Calcutta to care for his children there? No. God does not ask us to be special, or to change the world, or even to be our very best.
Then what does God ask us for? Our faithfulness. It sounds like such a little thing! Yet it is because they were faithful to what God called them to that the people we call heroes did the things they did. In essence, they said “yes” to God, not in grand things but in little things. Saying yes to God- faithfulness- happens every day. It happens at work, on the street, with our families, and (especially for those who are always busy) in rest. Because God asks for our very normal human lives, not our awesomeness :)
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