As a young child, I remember being asked what I wanted to be when I grew up. Like any normal boy, I gave a different answer based on what I thought was cool at the time. I was going to be president, a police officer, a movie star and, of course, a superhero.
Through my grade school years we always went to Branson, Missouri for vacations and my parents took me to live music shows where I was mesmerized by all the singers on stage. I thought, this is what I want to do! I set up stages at my house, created fake microphones, and just sang my heart out. As I grew older and my voice matured, I joined a choir and sang around the house until one day I had the great idea to record myself. When I was listening to myself, the harsh reality hit that I don’t even have a voice that sounds good in the shower, and I realized that singing was not what I was supposed to do in life.
What I came to realize was that my answer to the question of who I wanted to be was based on the talent of other people. Even as adults we tend to look around and see how others make their life seem so amazing, and we either try to pattern ours lives after them or become jealous because we have a distorted perspective that their life “must” be perfect. This is when our adventure is no longer our own. We begin living life based on an adventure created for someone else which sets us up for failure because we were never intended to walk their path. Instead we must find the path God has designed in His perfect plan for us.
How do we do this? A few years ago, I was asked to take a test at church to find out what talents God blessed me with. Initially I was disappointed in my results because I didn’t think they were amazing enough. By common cultural standards they were not gifts people hold in the highest regard, but when I thought about it from God’s point of view I realized that He had blessed me with exactly what he wanted me to have. All of a sudden my perspective changed from a cultural view of my gifts to God’s view. It was then that I actually started loving the person that God made me.
I began to love my life because I was not striving to be someone else…I was happy being myself. My world and my adventure totally changed as I finally embraced the path God created for only me. Now I was one of those people that others kept asking, “How are you so happy all the time? Show me how you do it!” And my answer is always the same – learn who it is that God designed you to be. Knowing I am a unique vessel that God is using to encourage and disciple others in the way He designed me to it is the most freeing experience of my life.
So, when you are choosing your own adventure make sure it is your own and that you are not chasing after someone else’s. Learn to be happy and love who you are, and your adventure will be better than any you could imagine as you find the treasure of simply being you.
