Inspiration for stories (and life in general) often comes from someone else’s life. It’s amazing to me that some people live BIG while others just live. Last week, my husband and I visited Dollywood for the first time. I’m not particularly a fan of Dolly Parton’s music (and since her husband of over 50 years isn’t either, I’m in good company) but there is something about the singer/songwriter/actress/philanthropist that draws me. It might be her transparency. “It takes a lot of money to look this cheap,” is her tagline, and I applaud her for it. It might be her contagious laughter or the fact that, despite her very humble beginnings, she has a deep and abiding faith that has carried her through an amazing musical career since she graduated high school only a few years after I was born.
While visiting the theme park, we took in a show called Dolly Parton, My People, My Music in which there are many performers, including some of her own family. I was struck by the fact that every person in the cast had better singing voices than Dolly. And it got me thinking that it takes more than talent to become famous. It takes drive, ambition and heart. Dolly Parton left her humble cabin where she was raised (one of eleven surviving children) to venture out and make her dreams a reality—and to this day, she gives God the glory.
I wonder what our world would be like if everyone acted on the gifts and/or talents given to them by God. If they believed in themselves to push through insecurity and apathy and really allowed that gift to shine through. How much easier it is to choose comfort and security over obedience. I will admit, I have regrets. Had I been obedient, had I been in God’s will from the beginning, had I listened to the desires He put on my heart…
But regret doesn’t come from God it comes from the enemy. We can’t go back and live life differently, but we can move forward from today with the knowledge that there is a perfect plan already laid out for us, if we’re just willing to obey. God can’t bless us if we’re not willing to step out in obedience, listen to His Spirit and ignore the timidity that often takes us off course.
I know God desires to bless each of His children, but when we choose our path over His, we choose mediocrity. And then we wonder why we don’t live BIG lives like those we read about—C.S. Lewis, Charles Spurgeon, Carrie Underwood, Mercy Me, David Jeremiah, J.R. Tolkein, Oswald Chambers, the apostle Paul—Jesus Christ. The list is endless and possibilities abound.
What about you? What dreams have been put on your heart that you’ve shoved aside because they seem more like a pipe dream than reality? How many times have you allowed the enemy to divert you from the desires the Lord placed within you, believing in the lie more than the truth? I know I have fallen victim to the lie more times than I’d like to admit. But great is His faithfulness; His mercies are new every morning (lamentations 3:23). Tomorrow is a new day, and a new beginning.
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How this resonates in my own life. Like many, I like to stick to my comfort zone and security, especially in the aspect of comfort. How I get frustrated with circumstance and yet just push through, ignoring obedience to God. Living in mediocracy, I pray for His divine guidance to shine through me so that others will see the love He has for them. And to live “big” in His will.
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That’s all you can do. Don’t miss the opportunities He brings your way and rely on Him. You’re a treasure, dear cousin!