Who Wants To Deflate Your Balloon?

Who Wants to Deflate Your Balloon?

No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. Joshua 1:5

Deana felt like skipping as she left the church community room. The parts for the massive Easter pageant were posted, and she had been assigned the role of the mother of Jesus. When she first heard the announcement about the annual weeklong production, she remembered the fun she’d had in her high school plays. Still, it had taken days for her to work up the courage to try out last weekend. And now she had a major part! She couldn’t wait to tell her roommates. She hadn’t told them she was trying out because she didn’t want them to be disappointed for her if she didn’t make it. Boy, would they be surprised!

Actually, Deana was the one who was surprised. When she burst through the door with her good news, her roommates reluctantly turned from the TV to stare at her. Finally one said, “But we never see you as it is.”

The other one nodded and then added, “Now you’ll start hanging out with your new artsy pals.”

Deana started to apologize and reassure them she was still their best friend. But as she glanced at the TV, she realized she wanted her evenings to be filled with more than chocolate-covered ice cream and sitcoms. Smiling, she said, “Well, I’m excited about the part, and I hope you’ll come. We open the week before Easter. Last year, more than six thousand people showed up to view the production. And a lot of them don’t normally go to church. We’ll have a live donkey, authentic costumes, a really sinister looking Satan, laser lights, the whole works. I can’t wait.”

Good for Deana! She refused to allow her roommates’ attitudes and lack of encouragement to steal her excitement. Without meaning to (I hope), her roommates might have restricted Deana’s activities and even her life to those patterns they were comfortable with. What about you? Do you have encouragement stealers in your life? Your own enthusiasm about your projects will lessen their power.

—SANDRA

Lord, why don’t the people around me encourage me when I try something new? Why aren’t they excited when I achieve a goal? Am I expecting too much of them? Am I looking to humans who are flawed, as I am, when I should be looking to you? Help me to care more about your calling and less about their restrictions. And help me to be gracious as I do so.

I’ve got an assignment from God, and I’m determined not to let jealousy and envy from others maim my efforts. —DEBRA WHITE SMITH, AUTHOR AND SPEAKER