Your Life Matters
Living vicariously through someone else for a moment is fine, however, becoming fixated there, stretching it into a lifetime, is detrimental to the soul. Going to various kid events, I watch the moms and dads walking around in shirts with their child's name and either mom or dad directly after. I have even seen some moms who have their whole social network reflect the life of one child- down to their own user name which was meant to reflect her, not the child. It's fine to show support, however, if that's the only way they see themselves, as only their child's mom or dad, they are selling themselves short and robbing themselves of great victory, purpose and identity; whether they mean to or not. For many years I would introduce myself as "Vince's wife", never Missey and, not surprisingly, that's how I came to be known. The longer it went on, the smaller I felt inside until I didn't know myself as anyone else. My dreams faded away as I claimed my husband's as my own, because I lost who I was created to be. Finally, realizing that I am so much more than just a wife or mother and my purpose is just as valuable and important, I began piecing my identity back together. I know there are others who are trapped in that same prison created by not recognizing their own value and worth. Every life has an impact upon the outcome of the world. Though we may not all be Mother Theresa's, Thomas Edison's, Alexander the Great's, or any other notable person whose life is recounted in the pages of history to future generations, we still make a difference. Every life is a drop of water carefully released in their own pool of time, location and influence, that when there is point of impact, ripples are created which effect the entire area. You'll probably never see your full impact, whether positive or negative, but it's there. After all, do we ever hear about those who mentored, nurtured and guided Mother Theresa? Or those who planted the poisonous seeds of hatred, false ideologies, thoughts and ideas within Adolf Hitler? Though we may never know their names, they had an undeniable influence upon the world which we know today. Don't ever discount yours!
