Becoming Who He Wants Me To Be

There are those of you who will laugh at me when I tell you my favorite show on TV is “The Walton’s.”  Aside from the fact that it is a wholesome, family show, I identify heartily with John Boy from a writer’s perspective.  He went for years before actually getting something published.  He would run to the post office only to return with a large manila envelope, which for a writer means another rejection. He was frustrated and emotionally deflated every time.  But he didn’t give up.  It was his dream to become a writer and as the writer of the show, Earl Hamner, can tell you, he did just that.

       Our society has become one of instant gratification.  From instant oatmeal to instant internet access for books or information to nearly instant travel when you consider it takes hours to cross the United States by airplane rather than days and days in a car!

       What does this teach our young people about patience and determination or perseverance?  How do we teach them, that first you must accept the fact that life wasn’t meant to be this way?  Frustration and disappointment are tools used for growth into becoming the person God wants us to be.

       We’ve all been give talents or gifts.  It takes courage and guts sometimes to break out of the mold we find ourselves, to even identify what our niche is.  Sometimes it even means falling on our face.  But mostly it means walking out in faith, after prayerful consideration into the place God is calling us. 

       As the Pastor said yesterday, each of us is expendable, but none is replaceable!  We each have a duty and responsibility to carry out the work that is singularly given to us.  God has placed each of us in a particular corner of the world to meet the needs of those around us as only we can, given our background, experiences and even personality.  He has designed each quality we possess to become the person he wants us to be.

       Our rewards may not be immediately recognized.  In fact it may take years and years, or perhaps not until we receive our eternal reward.  The other side of this equation, however, is the consequences we face when we give up and give in to frustration and disappointment.  Each step we take, whether it’s giant steps forward, or more likely, baby steps, in the direction God calls us, we are preparing to fulfill the responsibility before us, and becoming the person God wants us to be.

Galatians 6:9  Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.