We moved to Texas from Colorado in 2021. In addition to packing, boxing, shipping, closing/opening accounts, and general angst over a move, we moved to an area where neither of us had lived. New town, new church, new doctors, new restaurants, new friends. New everything.
And a new home. A place we would spend quite a bit of time, especially since I began to work from home two years before. It was a beautiful place. Neatly trimmed and manicured yard. Lovely pool and spa area. A smaller kitchen than we had in Colorado and an unfinished garage. But it had the basics we had wanted. Main bedroom downstairs, an office for Elizabeth, and three bedrooms upstairs for when the kids or guests came.
Not just yet. It was our home, but it wasn’t our home. We began to change that and started making it our own. We found a Cajun contractor from the bayou who spoke fluent Spanish. (Not integral to the process, but an interesting guy — and a great contractor.).
We added a ceiling fan here, a light fixture there, ripped out bookshelves up there. But the significant work involved painting our brick home — a complete makeover turning the red brick into white, with a deep red front door and black trim. And we turned an upstairs workout room into an office. A complete makeover that changed a blank space into a room of memories and character to work from.
We made it our own place. A warm, inviting space with character and meaning — at least to us.
You don’t have to repaint your home, rip out shelves and transform a room into an office to make it your own. In fact, you don’t have to do anything to your home.
What do you need to make your own? A job? Your car? Your space? Your closet? Your life?
One day recently, Elizabeth was reading something to me from her new Matthew Henry commentary. She said she wanted to underline or highlight it, but she didn’t want to mess it up. My response: “It’s yours. You can do with it what you want. One day, your kids will be able to see what you highlighted, and it could make a difference in their lives.” She is free to make that commentary her own, and now she does.
When you get to heaven, God will undoubtedly say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” But Elie Wiesel says he may also have one question for you. He won’t ask why you didn’t find a cure for cancer or become a great leader. The question he will ask: “Why didn’t you become you? Why didn’t you become all that you are?”
God created you so unique that there is no other fingerprint like yours. Never has been, never will be. You have a specific number of hairs on your head and, somewhere buried inside, there is that person who is uniquely you.
No copycats are needed. You have the charge to make it your own. As my friend John Mason says: “You were born an original, don’t die a copy.”
Think about it: How can you make your life your own? We’re not necessarily talking about the outside. Oh sure, you can change the color of your hair, you can even dress up, but that’s a short time. What can you change that will have a long-term, eternal impact?
Here are a few ideas to get your juices flowing.
- What do you really want out of life? No, really!
- Stop, just stop. Stop procrastinating, comparing yourself with others, focusing on the negative.
- Let go of something today. What are you willing to let go of to get to where you want to be?
Perhaps most importantly, remember this: You don’t need permission from anyone else to make your life your own. You can make that decision on your own.
Stay tuned; more to come.