A recurring phrase has lodged itself within my mind for the last few weeks now. Simply stated, this is it - "don't shrink".The more expanded thought encourages me to not play small, but rise up and become what God destined me to become. Aware somewhat of what that might be, I gather courage and a stiff upper lip and attempt the difficult task.
How easy it is for me to step back and disappear among the crowds, preferring to remain "unnoticed", "plain", "insignificant". It requires less courage, less energy, and less risk of failure. After all, who wants to fail?
I never seek the spotlight. I avoid it (not that it is looking for me anyway). And yet, there are times I find myself there, not by my own choosing, but because somehow along the way, I've been invited to it.
I believe that God wants to do more in us and through us than we ever dared to imagine. Somehow, we are limited in our finite minds as to the endless possibilities of living wholly surrendered, wholly committed lives, whatever the cost. Who really knows what a life completely yielded to Christ looks like? It's in this journey of becoming like him, that we resolve, one way or another, to "not shrink", but take up our cross and follow him. And, it looks different for each one of us.
There are certain events that need to unfold by our mere participation in the role we are called to play. We must rise up, on cue, for the production to continue. We have an important part to act out that needs our specific gift and talent that we've been handed and it takes great faith to deliver what we are unsure we have been given.
So rise up, don't play small - a whole cast needs you to do your best and contribute to the ongoing building of a huge spiritual body, a living, holy organism.
