True To Yourself

This promise is to you and to your children, and even to the Gentiles—all who have been called by the Lord our God. Acts 2:39

Ever feel the pressure to be it all and do it all? We can feel so many expectations from childhood through adulthood:

• Sit up straight.
• Eat your vegetables.
• Study hard.
• Practice the piano.
• Look an adult in the eye.
• Win the science fair.
• Place first in the art exhibit.
• Earn a place on the academic decathlon team.
• Make all-league, all-conference, all everything!
• Go to an Ivy League school.
• Get a prestigious internship.
• Start a record-setting business.
• Give me grandbabies, but don’t gain too much weight doing it.
• Be a perfect mom.

John Robinson and Geoffrey Godbey, authors of A Time for Life, note that “many Americans have become virtual walking résumés, defining themselves only by what they do.”^a You are more than the sum of your trophies. Success is only one indication of your identity and calling.

Look at your loves, not just your trophy case. What makes you feel excited, full of life, and energized?

Os Guinness calls us all to replace “You are what you do” with “Do what you are.”^b