When I was a child, my parents and grandparents told me that I could do anything I wanted to do and be anything I wanted to be. They also told me that I was special and that when I grew up, I would do something really amazing, perhaps change the world. Aside from the fact that this was very encouraging, it was also a heavy burden. The older I got the more I felt I had fallen short of their expectations. I wasn't anybody special and I hadn't accomplished anything of note. Sure, I had gotten a college degree and a teaching credential. People even said that I was a good teacher. Then I had children and stayed at home to raise and teach them.
Nearly twenty-four years have now passed and I no longer wonder what amazing thing I may accomplish someday or what amazing person I may become. Somewhere along the way, I realized that I was an ordinary person, that there would be no wealth or fame or accomplishment lauded by men. I also realized that it was okay to be ordinary, a gift even. An ordinary life is anything but ordinary, if it is in the hands of an extraordinary God. And perhaps we ordinary people do change the world, one ordinary day at a time.
"Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma." Ephesians 5:1-2 (NASB)
"Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." Ephesians 5:15- 16 (NASB)
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