I was made to be different.
For many years I thought that being different meant I needed to excel at everything I did. I scored the lead in plays, won trophies, acquired numerous leadership positions, earned scholarships and awards for being at the top of my academic class, and tried to maintain hundreds of friendships. Yet, at the end of the day, after running from here to there for what seemed like an endless number of hours…I still felt empty. I had accomplished everything I had worked so hard for, but felt as though I had nothing of great value to show for it. All I had were certificates that would eventually find their way to the bottom of a dresser drawer, countless forgotten hours spent in meetings and practices, and a garden full of friendships that were so surface level many were destined to die off.
It took a long time for me to realize that I felt the most like myself, the most alive, when I was hiding in the shadows, out of the limelight, helping other people build dreams and reach their full potential.
Being different is not about standing out from other people, it is about being different from who the world created you to be, transforming into who God created you to be. This transformation does not happen all at once, but begins slowly as you realize that having coffee with a friend who is hurting is just as important as meeting a deadline. It is about taking a week off work to go build a house, and skipping the football game to volunteer at the homeless shelter. Being different requires cross generational interaction and an eagerness to learn and experience life along side people from different backgrounds.
To be different is to understand that God created life to be an adventure. It was an amazing gift, that not many accept. Of course we talk about accepting it, creating lists of things we would do… if we weren’t so busy… or tired… or scared. But the list gets buried in the drawer, underneath the forgotten certificates and the stack of bills that need to be paid. We argue that there is always tomorrow… that’s when the adventure will begin… but tomorrow comes and goes… and we are once again left with the feeling that a piece of our heart is missing.
I can’t give you a list of ten steps on how to fill your space, I wish I could, but the missing piece is unique to each individual. My piece was creatively formed separate from yours, that’s the glory of being different. What I do know is that God gave everyone a passion for something, and discovering that passion is the key to discovering your difference.
Over the past several years I have come to realize that I have several deep passions. I have a passion for serving others and for listening. For many years of my life I was a talker, and don’t get me wrong I still am, however, I just recently discovered that I love sitting and listening to others tell their story. I also have a passion for youth, probably because I wish I could have done so many things different. I want to be a friend to the next generation, there through the good times and the bad, and thankfully so, for in my few short years of mentoring youth I have learned that dealing with the bad is part of the job description.
My third passion is worship, but not in the typical sense of going to church on a Sunday morning. Although I love being in a community of believers and take great pleasure in attending church services, throughout the past year I have discovered that worship is more about a way of life and if worship is a way of life, I want to live a life less ordinary.
God gives us hundreds of daily opportunities to worship everyday, and I want to take advantage of all of them. Yes worship can happen through singing and prayer, but it can also happen through dancing or running, sharing a meal with your family, and watching a sunset with a friend. Worship happens when we open the door for a stranger or smile and say hello to an enemy. Worship means taking every opportunity to show God that we are accepting the gift and ready for the great adventure he has laid out for us.
So go, live a life of worship, a life less ordinary, make every moment count, and don’t forget that you were made to be different.
