I often and reluctantly think back to when I was a teenager. I went through so many ethnic phases that I still feel like I’m not entirely just a white guy. I grew up largely in the suburbs and have since departed to the beautiful landscape of city living. it’s such an awesome experience to live in a city with the sights, the sounds, the smells(not always the best, but nevertheless an experience) and definitely the people. There are so many different kinds of people walking the streets. So many stories to be told. And intrinsically we all have some framework to how we perceive ourselves, whether it be societal class, style, who we are in community with, or whether we are a Mac or PC user. Those form the stories we tell and the memories we collect. Me, I was at the prime of my coolness when I was fourteen to around the age of seventeen or eighteen. This was my phase when I wore Boss jeans and FUBU t-shirts, and man, did I think I was hard. I thought by dressing a certain way, talking a certain way and listening to certain music made me appear to be something I wanted to be at that time. I was undoubtedly hardcore and no one could convince me otherwise.
If this was how I perceived myself for several years and I was so convinced that was who I was, then how is it possible that I perceive myself correctly now? I have matured, yes, but how correct are our present perceptions of ourselves? We are usually so sure of certain parts of our general framework, but for all we know it could evolve into another perception that we’ll look back on and shake our heads at in disbelief. As a person I have evolved and changed in many ways, my interaction with God has changed positively through the years and there are many aspects of my array of phases that have stayed with me as I have changed. Instead of locking into one perception of who it is that I am and want to be, I have been on a transformative journey with God and have progressed gradually. We, as humanity seek progression. We don’t like to be in one spot and perceived one way by others or even ourselves, so we move on, we change. It’s in an environment of monotony that we suffocate and lose passion for life. Why else do we meet so many people bored and miserable at their jobs or the trajectory of their life? I would venture to say that most of us are living this mundane, passionless lifestyle and we are dying to get out of it. We’re always questioning what we have to do to get out of the rut of monotony, to get from the place we’re in now to the place we want to be.
It will take risk. There will most certainly be uncertainty, but imagine how amazing it could be!
Jesus invites us into an adventure that finds its stability in trust, when all the variables of life are unknown, and finding peace in hope that there is more. That life really can start now and that we can progress and look back over every phase and admire the beautiful portrait that has been painted with brush strokes from a truly creative, vivid and vibrant artisan. Search deep, ask the questions necessary to find what your soul is craving
