Optimism

I'm sure you have seen this commercial at some point, but this morning was the first time I actually looked up to watch it, and it totally cracked me up.



When it comes to optimism, I've always had it for others but never for myself. I wouldn't say I had pessimism concerning myself but rather realism – nah. I’m kidding myself here. It was arrogant pessimism. I knew I wasn't that pretty. I knew I'd never be a famous artist. I knew not everyone was going to like me. This never prevented me from working hard to be, do, and create my best, but it did prevent me from hanging out with certain people because I knew I wasn’t cool enough and thus decided to reject them before they rejected me.

As I've hit 30, optimism and pessimism have become obsolete. In the words of Stuart Smalley, “I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me!“ I've become a smidgen more conformable in my own skin and am learning that while I will always be a little socially awkward, I have a knack for making people laugh and be comfortable in their skin as well. While I still have hopes and aspirations, I'm learning that through Jesus, I can be okay with who I am now trusting that if there are places to go and things to do, He is not going to leave me hanging.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret now. Recently I had this terrifying thought that I might let life pass me by and never amount to anything more than what I am now. What if God entrusted me with all this potential to do something much larger that I have dared aspire to? For instance, I felt like a real let-down and sell-out when I realized my plans of being an overseas missionary were crushed.

Here I am on the other side of 30 and my list of accomplishments might look impressive to some and still pale in comparison to others, yet I reflect on the words of Paul, “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.”

It is easy for me to get caught up in who I am rather than in Christ. It’s far too easy to focus on what I will be and what I will accomplish – even if these are veiled in the guise of being for Jesus. The fact of the matter is that all that is yet to be accomplished was accomplished when Jesus was born as a baby to live life as one of us and before us and later defeat death on the cross. What comes next is icing on the cake, watching God play out his redemption amidst the sorrows of this world and being blessed enough to his servant and tool in His hand.

When I said optimism and pessimism are now obsolete, that was a lie. I’d hoped they would be. Sure, I’m laying aside some of my insecurities, I’m settling into this time of life accepting that amidst the diapers, laundry, and part time job there is no time to pursue excellence at the pottery wheel or write a masterpiece novel or do international work, but it is still a daily struggle to quit being so darn self-obsessed and self-depreciating at the same time.

In reality, optimism and pessimism are one in the same. Both are inward rather than upward looking. Both are the assigning of an identity to ourselves rather than accepting the one given by Jesus. Jesus came on a pretty long and difficult journey just to give us these new identities – children of the most high God. Need there be more?