Psalm 139:13-14

For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.  

 

Right before I was about to start my senior year of high school, I remember going to youth group and being asked the question, “How do you want to be remembered”?

The end of my high school career was a challenging time for me personally. In the spring of my sophomore year, I was forced to move from Minnesota to California. Since I did not want to move, I had made up my mind that I was just going to do what I needed to do to get by until I graduated and to get back to Minnesota as soon as I could. This meant that I stopped being who I was. I stopped being involved in activities, sports, clubs, all the things I used to be a part of in Minnesota. I just stopped. At first, I also tried not to make friends so that it would be easier to just leave when it was time. I was hiding myself. who I was, and who I was created to be.

When I was asked this question about how I wanted to be remembered, it hit me that I had lost who I was. That by playing small or locking myself away, I was missing out on the life that I was created to live. I was hiding who I really was. This question caused me to stop and think about who I wanted to be. Did I want to be the kid from Minnesota that was just kind of there hiding in the background or did I want to be the kid from Minnesota that was a part of things, that was joyful and fun? This question helped to remind me that I was fearfully and wonderfully created to be uniquely me. I needed to be who God created me as and to stop hiding.

For Youth Ministry this month, we started with the same question, “How do you want to be remembered” and I asked the students to think about who they wanted to be. To help us think about these questions, we are watching the movie The Greatest Showman. This movie shows many characters stepping out of their boxes and into embracing who God created them to be. It also helps us to reflect on how we pursue our dreams and who that causes us to be.

God has created us each fearfully and wonderfully with our own unique gifts. We have a choice as to if we are going to hide these unique gifts away from the world or if we are going to allow ourselves to open up and make even a small difference in the world by being who we were created to be!

“No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else.” -P.T. Barnum.

So, I ask you, who do you want to be and how do you want to be remembered?

Prayer

God, we give you thanks for creating each one of fearfully and wonderfully with unique gifts and talents. We ask that you give us the knowledge and self-awareness to know and understand our gifts; strength and courage to help us use our talents rather than hiding them away; and humility to remember that these gifts were given to us by you. In your name we pray. Amen