I’ve been thinking …
Have you ever seen a skywriter pulling a banner that says “Trending now … this way to a better life? Be more!”? If we could jump up and hitch a ride on that flight, we wouldn’t have to wonder if we are heading in the right direction. OK so that basically isn’t going to happen, but when do we get to stop asking, “Am I doing enough?” Better yet, “Am I doing the right things? And is it enough?”
I struggle with that. When is it OK to be content? Is it OK to be satisfied with where we are? I think it is OK to acknowledge being in a comfortable place, life isn’t perfect, but life is good. I don’t think that God intends that we stop growing, stop learning, stop caring, or stop improving. When God created life, he included an interesting feature. Life is made to divide, multiply, regenerate, grow …. if it’s not doing that – well, it’s over. Does that mean we are never enough though?
Let’s talk about the danger of the ‘never enough’ trend. The one that assumes we are all living deficient lives. I love listening to the energy of the speakers and am motivated by reading articles where I’m encouraged to grow beyond the boundaries of my comfort level. It’s exhausting though to hear a steady beating in my ears that I need to do more, be more, have more. Those perpetual thoughts make me more drained than more filled.
I wish I could look up at that skywriter and see a banner that says – Trending now … You are Enough. 
Maybe I don’t need that skywriter after all. I look ahead and see a jungle of opportunity. I look back and see pools of experience, all of them defining who I’ve become. When I examine my roots and remember from childhood what I thought would make me successful and happy, I realize what I loved then, still follows me around today like a pet that’s become part of my anatomy.
Of all the things in life I want to do, I’m not great at any of them. But I have found that somehow when God handed out gifts he made me a helper, encourager, and friend. Try to find those on an org chart or specified in a salary table. In fact, God has no salary table. He only asks that I use my gifts because that’s why he gave them to me. I am touched by this verse in Colossians 3:23-24 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters…It is the Lord you are serving.”
I know my first love is encouraging and supporting people. I write because when I don’t part of me is missing. Pretty simple. Do you have an intimate view of what makes you who you are? I wonder who wants to live a productive life and finish strong, knowing that they made a difference? I don’t have to wonder – I know if you are reading this, you want to leave a legacy that says “I made a difference.”
Here’s a thought. Are you content with your life and thankful for all the threads of experience? Those events have been valuable in shaping who you are and my guess is that you are still growing from them. Do you see the benefits of allowing yourself to coast a little, reflect, and understand that who you are at your core is enough? Does your heart desire to make a difference in the world? Sometimes the most insignificant act of kindness is all it takes to change the world for someone.
Trending now … You are enough! You can know that for sure without the sky writer.
Anyway, that’s what I was thinking.
