Are You Who You Want To Be?

Are you who you want to be?

            As little kids, we dream about becoming adults and how exciting we think it will be. We can’t wait to drive fast cars and have our own house, and do whatever we want. It sounds so amazing, and we just can’t wait to grow up.

            As a teenager, a young adult or even someone older, you already know that life isn’t what you expected it to be. First of all, I thought I’d be taller. I thought I’d be smarter. I thought I’d have more friends, more money and more confidence. I thought I would have it all figured out by the time I started college, and now I’m finishing it up and I still feel like I don’t have it all together. I thought everything would just fall into place perfectly.

            Sometimes we get so weighed down by what we expected life would be that we forget to enjoy it. Sometimes I find myself moping about how things should be: how I should be more responsible and save more money and be more on top of things. When we spend time thinking about wishes and “should-bes,” we forget to be patient with ourselves. And we forget that we have had the power all along to make life what we want it to be. You can’t control what happens to you, but you can control how you respond to it. You can control your kindness, your gentleness, and the amount of love you give to others.

            Recently I’ve caught myself judging others harshly and being extremely lazy, and being unkind to those closest to me. And I stop myself for a moment and think, wow … is this really what I have become? Is this really who I want to be? This isn’t what I want. I know I can be so much more. God calls me to be so much more.

            No matter what age you are, you can always ask yourself: Am I who I want to be? Is my life what God has called me to be? Sometimes we spend so much time wasted on the pursuit of fleeting happiness that we forget to serve God and honor him in everything we say and do. It takes conscious decisions to choose him and to choose to change. It takes practice and patience to change ourselves and our habits, and become who we want. It takes time but it is well worth the effort.

            With Lent right around the corner, I challenge you to let it be a time of intense introspection. Spend time looking inside your heart and ask yourself: Am I who I want to be? Is my life what God has called me to be? There is always room for growth and improvement no matter how long you’ve been alive. Introspection isn’t easy, and I promise it will be uncomfortable. You won’t want to look; you’ll make excuses and say you don’t have enough time. But you will always make time for the things that are most important to you. And this is very important because you only have this one life to live. So make it beautiful; make it impact others positively, and make it glorify God. Make your life what you want it to be instead of simply floating along without taking control of it. Live with a purpose. Spend time in the silence and think about who you used to be, who you are now, and what kind of person you would like to become. What do you need to change in order to grow closer to God and grow closer to becoming who you truly want to be?