All That You Can Be

Vania, we went for a walk on Saturday. You won't remember. You're too young. We walked around the entire park. Okay, I walked around the entire park. You rode in the stroller. That's life with a toddler.

As we walked, I made an effort to pay attention to the trees. There are LOTS of trees down by the creek. Little trees, big trees, trees with birds, and trees with bugs. I also noticed how the trees grew together. They each found space for their leaves. Every tree had value. The ones with birds provided a home. Close to the path, trees provide shade. And all turn nasty carbon dioxide into fresh air. Plus they look downright great all decked out in green.

It kind of reminded me of people. No, not little green men. People come in different shapes and sizes. We have different talents - different ways of changing the world around us. God created a place for each of us, even you, Vania. You will never be everyone else. Your body is broken. Yet in spite of that, you will become all that God created you to be.

In his book How To Be Good In A World Gone Bad, Dr. Jim Spiegel talks about how God plants metaphors of spiritual truths in the real world [chapter 10, Living Artfully]. You have a special place in the world. You will change those around you in some way. And that makes you unique.

Being unique means that it doesn't matter how you compare with other people. God never measures us against anyone else. He measures us against His plan for our life. He gives us all that we need. And expects us to make use of that. Pastor Bob O'Bannon gave a sermon about the parable of talents. Bob made a point that the master praised the first and second servants equally even though one made far less than the other.

God expects Vania to be Vania. He gave you very special talents. Never let the things you can't do distract you from the things you're supposed to do.

Sounds so simple, right? Never is. Too often, people let themselves get distracted by what they think they should do. Schools will want to make you a well rounded person. Your genetic condition puts you in a unique position to ignore all of the noise. Some things will come easy. You already solve puzzles, learn about machines, and manipulate shapes. Focus on those things. Struggling with some subject? Then ignore it. Don't waste your precious energy on things that come hard. Grow in the space God carved out just for you.