public nudity and trying to be cool

remember the story called 'the emporer's new clothes'? it's a story about these taylors who convince the king that they are making him clothes that only the wise can see. too afraid to confess that he couldn't see the clothes either, he went ahead and wore them- in a parade. (been there, done that).

it is silly then to think about how many of us try to be something we are not. everyone's mom has probably said to them, 'just be yourself!'. but have we heard this phrase so much that it's meaning doesn't even register? why do we want to be something we are not?

somehow, croc shoes became popular. now, i am sure that there are some people who really really like the look and feel of those flashy smurf-like shoes. but there is no way that all of the people i have seen wearing these shoes actually walked by the croc store, stopped, and thought to themselves, "now those- those shoes are what i have been looking for! they will go great with so many of my outfits!"
no (shaking my head sadly), no. these people saw someone whom they thought was pretty or manly or cool or something, wearing these shoes and subconsciously thought, 'those shoes must be cool.' the funny thing about something being cool for me, is that as soon as i find out it's cool, it's no longer cool. i can never keep up. unless you try to pull off something that is so bad that it might actually work. like crocs. can you imagine if the inventors of crocs tried out for that t.v. show 'america's next great inventor'? the judges would have laughed them off the stage. yet here we are, america, wearing square foam shoes in every color of the rainbow. it actually is kind of heartwarming. it's like living in smurf-land, where there are even whole families walking around wearing matching crocs.

whoa. off on a tangent. anyway, so back to trying to squeeze yourself into the cool box. it's this funny little crowded box that doesn't even really exist, except for a bunch of people squished together, elbowing each other, scared of being pushed out of bounds. the sad thing is that there are all of these empty boxes all around; vacant identities- one for each of us- yet we all want to be inside another box.

for a long time i feared that if i became a "good, obedient" christian that i would have to grow my hair really long and wear it in a braid and have to be home-schooled and naive and socially awkward. i would be both boring and judgmental, never have a boyfriend or go to school dances, be home alone by 7pm every weekend and play the flute. and i was going to have to go be a missionary in africa! ok- that being said, i am sure i just insulted a whole lot of people. i'm truely sorry! but these were superficial stereotypes that i feared becoming. what i did not know and am trying now to understand is that God made me.
He made me me. it seems to me that when you run from God, or hide, or whatever your avoidance tactic is, you become less of who you are, not more. He didn't want clones! God loves that home-school, hair-braid girl who plays the flute- and that's how He made her. but it's not how He made me. and, if God wants me to go to africa, it will be because i was made for africa and it will become my passion as the time draws near to go. i will want to go.

philip yancey once said (in one of his many books, i can't remember) that, "it begins with trust in God's best for me, a confidence that God will liberate my true self, not bind it."

a jewish rabbi by the name of zusya said, "in the world to come, i shall not be asked, 'why were you not moses? i shall be asked 'why were you not zusya?'"

God didn't create moses or st. paul or mother theresa to live in the year 2007, in your town, in your school/ job/ home. it wasn't like He looked at mother theresa as an infant and said, 'dang it! there's only one of you!'.
rick warren, author of 'the purpose driven life' said, "neither past nor future generations can serve God's purpose in this generation. only we can."

that is way cool. you are here for a reason- no one else can do what you were made to do. i was made for a reason. that feels like relief.

"the God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth... He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else... He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that we would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him- though really, He is not far from anyone of us. for in Him we live and move and have our being." Acts 18:24-28