On Being Human
About a year ago, I was reading the book, YOU ARE THE GIRL FOR THE JOB by Jess Connolly. My take away was this one exercise at the beginning that asked me to write about my idealized self. So here is the reveal. And guys, this is not just for the girls. So hang in there.
MY IDEALIZED SELF:
I see myself on my best days as loving, benevolent, inspiring, teaching, completing tasks at hand, giving out words of knowledge, opening up a business for passive income, traveling, speaking, and book signings for published books.
I see myself as energetic, curious to travel and experience new places and cultures. I see lives transformed, gratitude, joy, love, and hope taking center stage during this part of my journey. Concerns, fear, inadequacy, timidity, and fear of faithlessness are pushed aside.
I serve an all-powerful, all-sufficient God and I am capable of anything that I want to tackle as long as He is walking alongside me.
God created me for such a time as this and so I wave goodbye to my idealized self and I hug my real self which responds and deals with real people and the real world.
My real self is my most influential self though because that is who is living in my skin. I still see weakness, face obstacles, feel pain, or am the cause of it--this is me but I am evolving day by day. I am better equipped today than I was yesterday to face the challenges that will try to trip me up. Instead, they will cause me to grow in my resolve. My life is a journey and it is the rough spots where I have had the sweetest communion with God and where I have realized more of my strengths and have experienced His presence as He hovered over me and cared for me in the middle of a crisis.
Paul, in 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ's power may rest on me. NIV
Just like hydrogen alone is highly flammable and potentially explosive: I, just on my own, can cause a lot of damage to myself and others. So I choose to merge and live my life under God's tutelage: under his wise counsel. I submit to his authority because He walks in perfect love and knows everything that I need to grow into the ruler and priest that He created me to be. Plus the Holy Spirit fills this earthly temple. After experiencing His loving care and goodness toward me during the darkest hours of my life, I will never choose to face life without Him.
ACTUAL ME + GOD = vibrant life
It's you and me against the world, God! We've got this.
1 Peter 1:12 "Do you realize how fortunate you are? Angels would have given anything to be in on this." MSG
A spirit-empowered life of purpose is one where we choose to strategize with God; where we have unique gifts and callings. This is an option unique to being human; so embrace your actual self but in addition, maximize your greatness by embracing our Creator as well.
Disclaimer: I give credit to Jess for any seemingly borrowed thoughts. I journaled about what I read and I have written from those notes. Her book was a sweet read.
