I only participated in these affairs
in my dreams since it takes many competitions to be able to participate in one
at that level. It takes a fair amount of
wealth to be able to afford the
clothes, gowns and travel required to participate. It also requires a certain degree of
experience, that partly comes from participation, that enables a person to be
able to speak well and have the knowledge necessary to compete intellectually.
Our family simply didn’t qualify!
But, undeterred, I was determined to
alter who I was. I attempted to “modify”
my diet, read to educate myself, as well as, do the best I could in
school. Eventually, however, as the
weeks passed, following the pageants, the dreams would diminish ….until the
next year’s pageants came around again.
It’s human nature to want
changes. We are often looking for ways
to change something about ourselves; looks, financial status, careers,
education and more. Businesses do this,
as well as governments. Political
figures are elected for just this purpose. They campaign, telling all who will
listen how they will change the “landscape” of their particular state, whether
economic, educational, or other—and all for good!
As
I pen this, our country is going through all kinds of changes. Between the political climate, the unusual
weather patterns, medical challenges, personal agendas for climbing the
corporate business ladder, environmental concerns, educational policies and
religious differences, change is inevitable, even if neighbors, relatives,
children and spouses disagree!
With disagreements come predicable
adamant and sometimes loud and ugly words in an effort to make a particular
opinion clearer. That isn’t always the
case, however. It seems the deeper we
dig in our heels to say our way is right, the less and less it appears
likely! We grow weary and sometimes just
give up….not give in, but give up!
As Believers, sometimes we take this
same perspective in our spiritual life.
We are inspired by someone we’ve heard, a miracle we’ve witnessed, or a
relationship we’ve developed with God.
But then time, and “life” interferes, and we lose our excitement, our
dedication and passion to push forward toward our desired changes, much like
the elected politician or my beauty queen dream.
We place our “spiritual life” on the
shelf, as we allow the world to diminish our resistance to worldly behaviors,
attitudes, perspectives, thought processes and even the company we keep. I encourage you to reflect on your “dreams of
alteration” to the person you are, compared to the person you would like to be. Do your alterations align with God and Biblical
principles, or are they more in line with the world? Are you happy and content with the person you
see in the mirror?
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