An Original Life

So I've been reading Erwin McManus' new book, Wide Awake and it's pretty amazing. It's been opening my eyes to what God intended for every single man on earth...to life life wide open. To be able to sit in heaven some day and say that you were fully alive when you died. It's something not every man or woman will accomplish, and it's certainly not something a lot of people strive for, but it is something worth fighting for.

All our lives, we have a dream. Maybe it's a dream to teach college statistics. Maybe it's a dream to open up a special education academy. Maybe it's a dream to simply stay home and spend time with your kids. All are dreams that someone, somewhere has.

But there are others who, as Erwin would put it, wake up ever day with that sad feeling in their heart, like their not living the life they were supposed to. Somewhere along the road, they missed the exit sign, kept going, and now they're stuck in a foreign land they never saw themselves in. And they feel as though they're suffocating.

This book explains how every single person longs to live a certain life. Those who are in tune with what God would desire for them usually have the same desires and passions. The book begins with the Hero. Each of us has a hero, a Barbarian (another Erwin book), who longs to awaken and pursue. It then proceeds to the artist, who longs to create. With a creative father who is our God, it is only natural that we should long to create something of our own. (And sometimes, we are the apprentice, and God is the painter, and it's up to us to keep the picture going...but we had blueprints). Next is the explorer, who yearns to find a new approach, who isn't afraid to jump head first out of the boat. Soon after, we have the believer. The one who believes what they are hearing is what they can do. They are the ones to dream big, and believe in the impossible. You can see the progression of the book. We all have our own parts to play, we just have to be willing to fit into them.

What I've learned the most of this book is how there are so many amazing people in the Bible who fit into each of these categories that God called to do specific things. But Erwin also speaks about each of our dreams. We all at one time or another have wanted to do something amazing with our lives. Maybe we've wanted to entertain. We like to see the looks on people's faces when we make them laugh. Maybe we've wanted to be a communicator, so we know that we are reaching out to people. Maybe we feel we're called to do mission work, but feel we don't have the talent. This is where God steps in. "Oh, but my friends tell me I sing amazing, and that I'm destined to be the next American idol." How many times have we heard this?? Some of us don't have talent to do the things we want to do. But honestly, look at some of the people who don't make it to the finals: Look at their lives. One of the people that tried out this year actually said "Well, I figure I'll try making it big for a while in singing, and then I'll go do what I really want to do." Okay....tell me if I'm wrong, but why would you try so hard and go through so much to try something you don't desire to do..and then be devastated when you're not picked??? (Am I being cynical?) But what if your passion keeps failing you? It just gets tired and worn out...it doesn't work, and you just stop caring as much as you once did. Does that mean you're not supposed to be doing what you're doing?

No, living your life of dreams is not simply pursing everything with passion. Yes, living out your dreams does involve passion and strength and honor. But that must not simply be what your life is about. Erwin states that "There are things you have to do if you're going to live out your dreams...Greatness is not simply the result of genetics but of hard work. Often, the person who has the most luck is the person who won't quit. To live a life that takes your breath away, you have to be willing to get winded." You have to be willing to fail at some things. You can not just simply become passionate about something, and the minute it becomes clear that its not working quite the way you hoped, you quit it. You have to fight for it. You have to become passionate about the passion. You must be willing to fall...and fail...and get up and try again.

And above all, if you know what your passions and dreams are, you can never fail and then just quit. You must not settle for less than your hearts greatest desire. If you yearn to be a hero, you must not settle to be a side kick. If you know you want to communicate a beautiful and perfect message of Salvation and Love to the world, you can not settle for sitting in a group and discussing once a week for the rest of your life (I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but it is settling, wouldn't you say?). If your talents align with your passion, go teach kids. Go speak to the world. Go live life wide awake. Live it with passion. Live life to the fullest.

Look at William Wallace in Braveheart. Some would say he failed, because he died before he led his men to freedom. But seriously, anyone who thinks this is a moron. He died living Wide Awake. He was passionate about his country, and fought for what he believed in. I'm sure he lost passion or insight once or twice, but he knew what his greatest desire was. Yet, after being captured, and on his deathbed, he still exhibited passion for what he believed in. He could have denied his passion, and asked for an easy death as so many had before. But, knowing that his death would thereafter be painful, and knowing that he would still die a painful death, he yelled with passion "FREEDOM!" If only we could have that type of passion, at a time in which we could easily just walk away, and give up.

I heard a message a while back about what happens when your career is interrupted. The man giving the sermon had been through a lot of career/life interruptions, but knew one thing: he had a desire to do what God wanted, and he pursued it. God had a huge plan for him, and he was willing to listen to God, even at times when he didn't trust Him, and set his eyes on what he knew was right. Now he's doing something he's passionate about, and living life Wide Awake.

Now, I know all of us are saying, "Well, those people who succeed were just in the right place at the right time. Opportunity never comes to me. I try, and I fail. I get fired. I get dumped. I get thrown to the side of the road. But no one comes and picks me up." Really? No one?

What about God?

One of my favorite quotes comes from one of the most ridiculous movies, but it rings so true. From Extreme Days comes, "When God throws you a curve ball...Don't duck. You just might miss something." Isn't that so true? God has a plan. God knows what's best for us. God will come through for us. You just have to listen to what he is saying. You just have to have faith.

Now some simply stop trying. They dream beautiful dreams, begin to pursue them, and at the first sign of failure, they give up all hope and walk away...never looking back. Is it because they never had passion for it in the first place, or did they lose passion because others were not as passionate about it as they? You can not simply give up, and just be done! You have to work at what you're trying to succeed at. Thomas Edison....He tried over 200 different ways to create a light-bulb, a simple household appliance these days. What do you think would have happened if after try, oh lets just pretend it's 23, he had decided "Hey, I can't get this to work, people aren't as excited or committed to the project as I am, to heck with it all"? Would someone else had figured it out later on, or would I be sitting in my bedroom with a kerosene lamp next to my desk? What if Walt Disney, after being told he had no imagination, decided "Well I guess that guy was right. I'll just try the military for a while" and not created the Most Magical Place On Earth? Come on now, I'm an adult, and my favorite place to be is still Disneyland. Can't you just get so caught up into it? What if that had never happened. What if...

I personally long for a life of passion. I know that some things I will be less passionate about than others. But I have been able to realize what I am truly passionate about, and what I simply think would be interesting. I am passionate about sewing. Now, as much as I love my job, and as many opportunities as Starbucks has, I don't believe that I necessarily want to stay there to pursue those passions. I once wanted to work in their design department, but that is simply something I thought would be really cool. A dream I once shared in was to open a fine arts academy. I still long to do that, and be a costume designer for performances that would happen there. This I know is a passion I plan to pursue. However, some of us must accomplish other tasks before moving on to a passion. I am not passionate about college, but it is something I must complete. I couldn't care less about a college experience (Hello, I'm not having one now...I'm at COS...in Visalia...point made.), but I know I must complete my courses in order to learn more and realize more of how to make my passion of opening a studio come to life. But I am not passionate about having a college experience.

Now, I do not believe in predestination. I don't believe that God hand-picked the people who will go to heaven, and who will not. I believe he allows us to make that choice, and it depends what road we decide to take. (Sorry Dad). However, I do believe that God does have a plan for each and every one of us, and that He tells us what we should do. That does not mean it's picked out for us, but that does mean there is a better road than the one we think we know everything about. God placed those dreams and desires in our hearts for a reason. And he intends for us to follow them. But what voice we choose to follow is up to us. We can choose the easy way out, or we can choose to fight the battles and do what it takes to make our hearts deepest desires come true. But it does take passion.

So don't give up on your dreams, don't stop believing. You must believe. You must have faith. You must pursue that which will create in you an original life that will allow you to accomplish your dreams. You must dream...so you can live life Wide Awake.