Versions of Ourselves


A few times this week different groups at my church painted pumpkins as an activity for classes. Everyone likes to paint a pumpkin, don’t they? The finished products are all interesting. Some are funny, some are serious. Some are mysterious. This one caught my attention immediately.
If you know me, you already see why this grabbed me. If you don’t know me, you now could recognize me if we passed in a crowded airport terminal. This pumpkin looks just like me. Grey hair. Closely cropped white beard. Small eye glasses. Yes, it is definitely me. It makes me laugh every time I see the pumpkin version of myself.
I can look back on the childhood version of me and remember the television shows I liked, the things I liked to do, my friends with whom I played at recess and after school. I can look back on the teenage version of me and remember the excitement of getting my driver’s license and the anxious need to fit in and be popular. I can look back on my young adult self and feel that need to be successful and to appear a grown up. The middle aged version of me, when I look back, was settling in for the long haul of career and life, adjusting expectations and embracing challenges.
Now that I have arrived at this pumpkin version of myself, part of the fun of life is looking back at all the previous versions of me. What a journey it has been, what stories I have to tell! But part of the fun of this version of me is also looking ahead as well. What new thing lies ahead? I think of the places I’ve yet to go and the people I’ve yet to meet. I think of the work still before me and the stories yet to be written. I think of the people I love and the people who love me. I think of all that lies ahead, and I am already thankful.
Scripture says, “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” I find it a great comfort to know that God has been, and will be, with me through all the versions of me. Even this pumpkin one.
Peace.


 

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