“You are essentially the same as the kudzu plant slowly taking over your backyard lawn swing; you are merely a two-legged form of the same kind of life that exists in all other forms on planet Earth.”
NO. YOU’RE NOT!
Not only are you as a human being an excellent sample of God’s finest creative genius: you are as vital and important as any of the rest of us.
Yeah–you!
I’m sharing something from my files, written by a mentor whom I’ve not yet had the pleasure to meet. His name is Bob Perks. Read along with me, will you?
“Picture in your mind the most incredible thing designed by mankind that you have ever seen. Perhaps the Empire State Building, the Shuttle built by the technicians at NASA, The Golden Gate Bridge or even the intricate detailing in a painting you’ve seen.
“What name comes to mind when I say the words “creative genius?”
“Who do you think of when I mention God-like compassion, caring and loving?
“What author’s name do you think of when I mention “poetry,” “drama,” “mystery,” “fiction,” and “comedy?”
“What do you see when I say “strength,” and “stamina?”
“Finally “winner,” “successful,” or “role model?”
“I’ll bet you a Kids Meal at McDonald’s you never saw yourself in any of those images. And yet…
“Look at your hands. Are they not the same as the hands of the skillful artist, architect, mason, or technician?
“If you were to x-ray your skull, would you not find the same brain matter that takes up the space between the ears of Einstein, Plato, and Disney?
“Hold your hand to your chest. Can you feel the beat of a heart capable of paining for the homeless and starving? Have you not the same heart that beat in the chest of Jesus, Gandhi, Mohamed or the thousands of missionaries around the world?
“Look at your fingers. Are they not like the fingers of Frost, Churchill, Stevens, Wilder and King that held tightly the pens that wrote the words that shaped the world?
“Look at your feet. Show me the difference between yours and gold medalists of the Olympics or the rescuers who carried the people out of the rubble in a tragic earthquake.
“Finally. Close your eyes as you stand in front of a mirror and picture in your mind that man or woman who you think of as a success, a winner and role model. Open your eyes and explain to me the difference between you and that person.
“There is no difference…except in how you perceive yourself.
“You have the mind, the hands, the feet, the fingers, the heart to be exactly what you want to be. The only thing that is stopping you is the person you see in the mirror.
“You have all that it takes.
“It’s 1:18 A.M. I can sleep now. The rest is up to you.
— Bob Perks”
Now you see why I saved this some years ago.
I’m tired of people who ought to know better trying to convince you that you’re nothing special; you’re just a little part of every other kind of life that exists here. It seems way too many, from the American President on down, are tireless in the attempt to tell you you’re not any more important than a hermit crab.
Yes. Yes, you are.
Will you do something for me? Stop listening to people who tell you you’re nothing special.
Oh, yes, you are. You are incredible and destined to do and be great things.
“You got any proof?”
Yep. Jesus, the Christ, never took upon Himself human form, lived among us, died so we wouldn’t have to, nor was raised back to life so we could know total freedom in Him, for hermit crabs.
Or kudzu.
He came, He lived, died, rose again and reigns right now FOR YOU.
I thought that, today, you could use a little encouragement.
You truly are amazing–you know that, right?
Yeah–YOU.
© D. Dean Boone, March 2015. Perks quote under separate copyright.