I am a pretty self reflective person, I think deeply about issues, and choose most of my words carefully. As I was responding to a question I had been asked today, a friend asked, “who are you?” It struck me in an odd way that normally I would not have thought much about. But tonight it drew me to deeper thought than normal, in reflection on the day that I became who I am.
I remembered a time that I sold my computer to buy a plane ticket to Haiti, but that wasn’t the day. My mind drifted to a time that I had listened to a friend describe his passion to go on a spring break trip out of the country and giving him $5 to turn in his application, but that was not the day. I reflected on a conversation where I described the process and cost of installing a new clutch, but that was not the day. This week I said yes to things that challenged who I am, stretched me from my comfort zone, and pressed me into a place of prayer tonight that refreshed like sleep cannot refresh.
My thoughts are not complete or fluid, but my point is this. I am who I am today because of the people who have surrounded me and spoken into my life. I am who I am because of the books I’ve read, the stories I’ve heard, the places I’ve traveled, and the mentors I’ve had. I was taught when I was young to give and it will be given back to you. I was taught that wisdom is more precious than gold. And so I sought wisdom, I sought knowledge and understanding. I applied myself, and even when the trends of society moved away from taking notes in class, and writing down sermon notes at church I continued to engrave the lessons that are often forgotten in journals that I reflect back on.
So in concluding this thought, I became who I am by being created by a loving God, and using the talents he has given to me as best I know how. There is a parable of different men being given 1, 2, and 5 talents. One man buries, while the others double their talents. I am not sure how many talents I have been given. But I know that I have done my best not to burry those things I have been entrusted with.
Be who you are, and use the talents you have been given.
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