Sunday, August 10, 2008

Okay, just for fun, just for pretend

What else would you like to do in life? If you could do anything, and do it well, what would you do? I'm talking, you, right now, with all your same life experiences. Same family, so town, same friends, same journey. No, you're not suddenly daughter or son of Prince Charles. Or Bill Gates.

You're you. And if some how, in some wild and crazy way, you could do anything else in life you wanted along with knowledge and expertise, what would it be?

Here's mine.

I'd love to do something with Ohio State Football. I'd like to have enough knowledge to be like, you know, assistant wide receiver coach, or work with the defense, growl something like, "Let's play smash mouth football!" Grrrrr!

In a smaller scale, coach Pop Warner football with Tony. I just love the game. I love the strategy and drill, the challenge of winning. The thrill of offense, the determination of defense.

When we watch football in the fall, the best part is watching the plays unfold and how they are designed to defend, or to score and win. Though I've never played, and I don't think it's a sport of women on field, I'd love to help develop plays, and break down game film.

I'm really good at observing others, noticing unusual or odds things. I catch habits or routines. I have an intuition about people, and the why's of life. Not always, but a lot of times. I think I'd like the mental challenge of figuring out our opponent and beating them.

So, that's my if-you-could-go-through-a-worm-hole dream.

But in real life, I'm so amazingly lucky to do what I do. Write books. It's really, really a dream, a childhood desire and goal. I'm so blessed.

I have a great husband. I can't say enough about him. I come from wonderful, loving, God-loving parents. My brothers and sister are cool, loving siblings even though we don't get to see each other as much as we like. Yeah, I'm not discounting our humanity. We ain't perfect. But, when I gaze over my life, there's nothing I'd change.

Unlike the message being touted by people like Eckhart Tolle and Elizabeth Gilbert, i didn't just think my life into being. I didn't will myself into a good marriage or dream job.

I surrendered my way into it.

Coming out of college, I knew there are so many options in life, so many detours, ways to go right, ways to go wrong. I said, "Lord, I'll make the wrong decisions. At least I have a huge capacity for making the wrong decisions. You take my life. Use me how, when and where You want."

This I knew, God is love, God is good and if I'm in Him, I'll be content. That's what I wanted. One, to be completely surrendered to Him because at the end of my life, being surrendered to me isn't going to gain me a dern thing. And, I wanted to be content and happy, knowing during the good and bad, God was in control.

I do what I do because He gave me the desires of my heart and as I pursued Him, He fulfilled them. I'm confident that when I stand before Him at the end of the age, i pursued the things He asked of me. I'll have enough other things to answer for, I don't need my overall life unaccounted for!

If you don't know Jesus, you should. He's awesome. Real. Love. Amazing.

3 comments:

Heather Diane Tipton said...

Publisher... media mogul. that sounds good to me. =) one of these days... that's gonna be me.

Debra Kaye said...

Rachel, I just signed up for your newsletter also! I read your blog on faithchick.com about being proud of your country and you and I are "spot on"!

I am just breaking into the writing business and have just been offered my first contract. There should be an exclamation point at the end of that sentence, right? There's a story there.

Wanted to stop by and say "hi" and look forward to reading your blog and newsletter.

Anonymous said...

I'd love to travel as like I used to as a background vocalist, except this time Id love to do so for a praise and worship leader that led at conferences, or with a band of really sincere believers. I miss traveling and worshipping at different places across the country.