When I was a little girl, I had many dreams and many passions. Many ways, that through my compassion, I thought I would change the world. I had a heart that hurt for people and dreams that didn't connect to those people or to changing the world. I had a mind, that didn't even come close to knowing what that really meant. Let's pretend this is what my dream looked like (or maybe I'm asking, you know, for a friend): I wanted to be Madonna. It seemed so legit at the time. I loved singing and people told me I was good enough. I loved acting and seemed to find myself in plenty of drama. I wanted to write something that mattered. Now maybe Madonna didn't write things that mattered, but it was all part of the plan. I was pursuing my Madonna dreams by heading to California to where apparently, these things could become reality, all the while attending Berkeley to become a journalist. And, you know, changing the world, one wanna be someone else at a time.
And then, I was a teenager and a mom and married to the boy I loved. Dreams of singing and acting and changing the world with my fame weren't even a tiny little dot on my radar. I had a baby. A family that I was determined wouldn't just become another statistic. I had to graduate high school, so I did. And then that summer, something happened. I went to church camp. Me as a student, my Big Guy as a counselor. Ha! Weird, for sure, but one night everything changed. That one night, I sat alone in my bunk bed at camp, and I gave my life to the One who gave it to me in the first place and I became called and changing the world meant something different entirely.
And here I am. And there has been so much life lived along the way. I still love to sing. You'll find me every Sunday and all the days in between singing about the One who can change a life. Sometimes on a stage, sometimes from a pew. Almost always in my car and a lot in my house. My dream isn't to be Madonna, but an example of worship. Not to be known by the world, but for the world to truly know truth. Not to have fame, but to be famous in my home. Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." And it has been the verse of my life. A promise I will always believe, the one I have lived. And I've written things for myself, I've written books in my head. I've written lengthy Instagram posts. And now I've written this. Maybe this blog will matter, maybe it won't. Maybe I'll be the grammar police that never writes grammatically correct, because I write from my heart. FYI: Sentences always start with "and" in my heart. Either way, I will write. I will continue to know that God truly works all things together for good and I will tell the world. I am called to live my life for His purpose, whatever that might be.
Today, are you trying to figure life out? Are you looking around wondering why things are the way they are? Are you pushing for your dreams with no success? ........Are you called? Have you truly given your life to the writing of His story? Be encouraged to look to the One whose promises are true. To the One who will make all things work together for your good. And that's where changing the world really starts.
And ForGoodTogether begins.......
