The Genesee Reflection #4

Yesterday, I talked about how I always wanted to be different...to be special.  I also mentioned that I always wanted to be faster, stronger, wiser, smarter.  Well to be honest, I was never tops in any of these categories and that is the case even today.  In elementary school, I was one of the top 5 picked to play kickball, but never the first.  I was smart enough to be tested for the "Wings" program (I don't remember what it was called back in the day), but I wasn't smart enough to pass the test.  I had an older/bigger brother who was always faster and stronger than me.  When I transitioned into Jr. High, all the other boys grew up...(I did not until my sophomore year in High School if you know what I mean).  I was almost always the smallest and slowest in High School.  So even though I strived to be faster, stronger, wiser, smarter...well, I seldom reached the heights of others.  Which brings us to the Genesee Reflection for today.  From Sunday, July 28th, 1974, Henri Nouwen writes:

"What do you do when you are always comparing yourself with other people?  What do you do when you always feel that the people you talk to, hear of, or read about are more intelligent, more skillful, more attractive, more gentle, more generous, more practical, or more contemplative than you are?  What do you do when you can't get away from measuring yourself against others, always feeling that they are the real people while you are a nobody or even less than that?"

One line from a recent Jeff Manion sermon keeps scrolling through my head...he says, "What if what makes us great is not one single act of greatness?  What if greatness is doing a bunch of good things over and over and over again?"  He goes on to talk about how people sometimes give up on doing good things because they are waiting for that one really great thing to come along.  What if I was designed to be good...not great?  Could I live with that?  Well I have been, and I believe I will continue to do good things over and over and over again until God calls me to do something else.  But, is my good...good enough?