Be You

When I was a kid, I always thought that I would grow up to be a mermaid. Seriously, I was positive that if I just wanted it bad enough, it would happen. I would watch The Little Mermaid over and over and over and over and over again. My VHS copy was actually stolen. I stole it myself. From the Blue Bonnet Baptist Association offices. Sorry guys. Please know it was well loved. I would go out to the backyard, and I would hop in my plastic kiddie pool from the local grocery store, and I would practice swimming with my tail (aka, a 5 year old me on my stomach, face down in a foot of water with my legs pushed together, flailing wildly). It was who I wanted to be. Then, one day, my dad used my dream as a sermon illustration, I was humiliated, and I gave up on my dream. Any other PKs reading this...you know the struggle.

As I grew older, I decided to be different people--if you will. When I was 10, I decided that I was going to be Nick Jonas' girlfriend. I may actually still be waiting for this to happen. When I was 12, I decided that I was punk rock. Hello, Hot Topic. I'm cringing just thinking of my suspender and knee high plaid converse combo, but no, I will not throw out my Hot Topic rewards card, and you can't make me. When I was 13, I decided that I was now preppy. I even convinced my mom to buy me a real, $40 pair of Nike shorts. Yes, I still wear them. No, I'm not sure how they still fit. When I turned 15, I decided that I would be trendy and cultured. When I turned 17, I decided that I would stretch my ears. "It's not a phase, Mom." Yes, it hurt. Yes, I took them out. Yes, my ears shrunk back down by the grace of God.

Friends, I hold no secrets from you here, but for a very important reason. I have always wanted to be something other than who I actually am. It is so easy to get sucked into the allure of being someone else. Usually we have a reason for this--because we want to be like "them", their life is better, so we can be popular, because we want attention, because we're angry. It's fine. I totally get it. I've been there. Many times.

All I want you to know is that you don't have to be someone or something else to have a better life. In fact, the person that you are--your likes and dislikes, what you wear, what gets you excited, what gets you angry--those are all very important. Hold on to those, and own them, because you know what, someone gave those to you as a gift.

"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous--how well I know it" (Psalm 139:13-14).

David, the second king of the nation of Israel, wrote these thoughts down. He was an interesting guy. He had times where he was one thing or another--a shepherd, a musician, a warrior. And yet, an overlying theme in his life was the fact that God had made him, purposed all of those things that made up who David was, and used those things in David's life for the benefit of David and those around him.

God has a plan for you too. The real you. The you that you are when no one else is around. He formulated all those things just right so that you could have the best life.

Live it. Own it. Breathe it. Be you.