Do people see you like you see yourself?
Who do you see yourself to be?
And who are you trying to be?
This is a watermelon trying to be a drink dispenser. Is it a drink dispenser or a watermelon?
How well did it succeed at being a watermelon? How well did it succeed at being a drink dispenser?
Are you thinking by now, or just annoyed at all of the questions so far? LOL!
Yesterday, I turned this watermelon into a drink dispenser by using this cute little kit that put feet on it to keep it steady and inserted a spigot to allow what was inside to pour into a cup.
It was fun. The process was messy. And it worked pretty good. It did leak a little bit now and then, but for the most part it was fun. It became a topic of discussion and the kids thought it was fun. Win!
As I think about it now, I see some lessons here - as usual. : ) (If you know me, I do this a lot). To become a dispenser, everything that was inside of this watermelon had to be removed. Removed. That stuff inside of it which made it a watermelon, was no longer in it. It still LOOKED like a watermelon, for the most part, just a little dressed up! A little goofy.
It still had the shape of a watermelon. It was green like a watermelon - with the markings of a watermelon. It smelled like a watermelon. But if you would have cut it open to get the watermelon, it wasn't there! It was an empty shell.
How about you? Are you trying to be someone that you are not meant to be? Do you feel hollow and empty inside trying to be that "thing" that you are not?
It's a funny thing - well not "ha-ha" funny, but the very thing that we THINK that we WANT to be, that isn't who we are supposed to be, will leave us empty and hollow.
It is in becoming YOU and using your gifts and talents that God has given you, that you find fulfillment. That you find YOURSELF!
The world and outside pressures make us to want to believe that we should look like a certain person, act like a certain person, do what other people do, wear the kind of clothes that other people wear, and copy others in order to be accepted.
I'm telling you, that is a lie! You were made to be YOU! Unique. Different. And to shine being that person. Only YOU can be YOU and reach the people in your circle of influence - no matter who you are - you do - whether you realize it or not.
Ephesians 2:10 "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them." ASV
Psalm 139:16 "Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them. 17. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!" ASV
Can you grasp it? Do you get it? The Creator and God of all of the Universes planned for you to be here, now, at this time. He's made plans for you and thinks about you!
However, one of the greatest gifts He also gave us is the gift of choice. You get to choose if you fulfill what He has written of you. You get to choose to follow His plan for you. You get to choose to be that or something else.
Does a carrot decide to be a tomato? Does a flower want to be a tree? Does a bird want to swim? How well does that work?
You are meant to be you.
So.....are you feeling hollow and empty inside? It's time to take that reality check and decide who you want to BE!
You? Or someone else?
Authentic? Or fake?
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD you God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them." ESV
You choose who you are. Choose life! Choose you! Choose what God has planned for you. Live! Love Him.