Roses Vs. Chameleons

Identity matters, it is a core feature that each person has within him. It is a combination of character and personal history. It means taking away friends and fads and truly discovering who you are. Identity not only defines who a person is, it helps define the path that he walks in life.
In my life I have struggled to find my identity. As a teenager I played the part of a chameleon. I went from group to group in hopes of being accepted by someone. I only ended up lonely, and it did not matter that I was with a group. I still felt alone because none of my friends saw me for who I truly was. Part of the problem was that I did not know who I was. I spent so much time focusing on what the people around me expected of me, that I was too busy to realize that I was my own person. I was someone that God had created. An individual made for a specific reason, completely unique.

“I will praise you, because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and I know this very well.”

-Psalm 139:14

It took me a long time to understand this verse. I looked at myself and saw everything I had done wrong and could not understand how that made me remarkable. Then one day I finally understood grace. The mistakes of the past make us unique. God’s grace covers those mistakes and gives us a new identity. Like a rose that starts out as a small bud and then blossoms into a beautiful, unique flower, God forms each of us, every day.
Shakespeare wrote in Romeo and Juliet, “What is in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
When I think about this quote, I think about the fact that it is not the circumstance that makes us who we are; it is our character that makes us who we are. Who are you? Who is God creating you to be? Do you sit and listen to the ideas and expectations of those around you or do you listen to the one that created you? God made you, inside and out. He created you for a specific reason, listen to his directions. Sometimes that means taking the path less traveled. Often it means sticking out in the crowd. Every now and then it means you lose a friend because you chose to stand up for what was right and not go along with the crowd. It happens, but just like a rose is beautiful, it has its thorns. Becoming the person that God created is never easy. Please do not let this stop you from finding the path that God has laid out for you.

“’For I know the plans I have for you’ – this is the Lord’s declaration – ‘plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’”

-Jeremiah 29:11

Every person is a unique diamond. Each has a different sparkle and facet. Every person has varying dimensions to his identity. As opposed to changing to fit in with the crowd, one can go from being introverted to extroverted. The facets of your personality represent the different angles that you allow others to see of your character. When you change to fit in with different crowds you deny part of yourself, whereas facets are simply different sides of the same object.
I still battle the impulse to give in and be a chameleon. I find the strength to keep fighting that battle every time a friend sees who I am and not a mask that I put on. When God uses something that I have gone through to help me understand someone else’s trouble and pain; it makes me realize that I would not be able to do that, if I was not following his path and being who he created me to be. I found my identity when I realized that my past was not a hindrance, but a blessing. It is not always easy being me. It will not always be easy to be you.
Do not be afraid to stand out. Take off your mask and stop being a chameleon! God created you to be unique. Find out what that means for you. Do not expect your friends to act a certain way and accept them for who they are. If they do not know who they are, help them find out.

“Yet Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter;

we all are the work of your hands.”

-Isaiah 64:8

Become like clay in the potter’s hands and let go of control. God can and will take care of you. You are unique, never forget that.

The Need to Achieve

The need to achieve is a powerful source of motivation. When one has a need to be the best that they can be, it can destroy him, or make him stronger. Yet, needing to achieve or be the best is not enough. Living life takes more than mere motivation. It takes strength and courage. Because to truly live one must be who he is, no matter what else is going on.
I am many things, but most of those things are simply roles that I play and not who I am. Among other things, I am a student, photographer, friend and a Christian. Yet, these roles are mere images of the things that drive me. I have a yearning for knowledge, therefore I am a student. I love to capture moments of time, therefore I am a photographer. I love making people smile and be comfortable with who they are, therefore I am a friend. I have a consuming love for Christ and I have been washed clean by his mercy, therefore I am a Christian.
Sometimes my need to achieve gets in the way of who I am and who I want to be. I get involved in more things than I can handle, just to have a challenge. Then I lose track of friends and the things going on in their lives that they need someone to be there for them. I get caught up in learning how to minister through book knowledge and I forget how to minister through people knowledge. Lately when people ask me about what I am going to do after I graduate I give an automatic answer. Yet inside I have a gnawing voice telling me that I do not have a clue. I get scared. I have a crippling fear of failure. This fear is caused by the fact that everything I am being taught is mere theory and not reality.
Where is the line in between theory and reality? As students we are being taught the things that we will need to know when we get out into the real world, but we are not in the real world. Some students study until their hair falls out, others skate through their classes and still others do not even care. What is the point? How often do we stop and ask ourselves is this who we are? Am I achieving simply to say I did something, or am I actually reaching a goal?

“Not that I have already reached the goal or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.”

- Philippians 3:12-14

“Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord – you serve the Lord Christ.”

- Colossians 3:23-24

These verses demonstrate how we should act towards every goal. Instead of trying to achieve for ourselves we should be trying to achieve the goal that God has placed for us.
Ultimately there is one purpose in living life and that is to glorify God by being the people he created us to be and love and minister to those around us. Yet too often people get caught up in achieving purposes that they set for themselves and they forgot about the opportunity to minister and love the people that God places in their lives.
Here is the challenge for all reading this and myself. Get out of the mood of achieving for ourselves and take the time to minister to those around us. Even if the most we can do is stop and ask a friend how they are doing, genuinely mean it and listen to them when they need someone to talk to.