It's Saturday and my husband is at work and it's raining and we have no car.  I partly accomplished one goal I had for the day, so I picked up my InTouch issue to read an article.  Every month, I read it cover to cover and every month is strikes a chord, any chord for me.  Telling stories of families who've overcome the odds with grace and love, telling stories of forgiveness towards those who've sinned against them, encouraging me to dive deeper into the Bible everyday.  I'll be honest, it's not everyday I do this, but I'm a work in progress and am trying to do better.  

So, I read my article (I like to only read one a day to sort of let the awesomeness that is "InTouch" keep me waiting in suspense throughout the month).  I went on to see what the rest were about.  The one I quote below was amazing to me and it's just the first page...the INTRO!  I've written about how I've always compared myself to others, not being able to do what they do, not having the abilities they do, blahblahblah, and not having the courage to just be myself...you can read it here.  Shockingly, I quote Charles Stanley.

Beautifully written by John Ortberg in the January 2014 issue of InTouch magazine, if you want to read the whole article, click here.

"When your life ends, the Lord will not ask you why you weren't Moses or David or Esther or even Charles Stanley.  If you don't pursue that life for which God created you, He will ask you why you weren't you. God designed us to delight in the lives He's given us.  When I am growing toward the me I'm meant to be, I am being freed from the me I pretend to be.  I no longer try to convince people I'm important while secretly fearing I am not."

Well I'll be darned... grow toward the me I'm meant to be.

I need to be comfortable doing the work that He wants me to because this life is not about me, it's about Him.  I've always called myself a "late bloomer" and it's OK...I see that now.  These are things that most people know and are comfortable with in themselves, but I feel that if I'm struggling with something, quite possibly there is someone else who may be too.  Sharing stories and perspectives is how we grow and learn.

 How many Pinterest boards are out there that say, "it's not about the destination, but about the journey."  As long as I have done the work to be the me He created me to be in the end...I'm perfect.

He didn't make us to be cookie cutters, how boring.  He's an amazing Creator, an exciting Creator, He made us to be wonderful, if we allow it.

 "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  

Wonderful are your works;

my soul knows it very well."  

Psalm 139:14