In my growing up years and in early adulthood, I found myself often thinking and sometimes saying, “Oh, if I could be like him.”
As I matured a bit more, the expression of that longing changed. I found myself seeking to ease my sense of failure by thinking and talking about what great things I would do if I had greater talent or resources.
I don’t know at what stage it happened, though I wish it had happened earlier. I became convicted that my great need was to be faithful with who I was and with what I had. Somewhere in that “growing up” process, I heard this poetic claim,
“It’s not what you’d do with a million, if riches should be your lot,
But what are you doing today with the dollar and a quarter you’ve got?”
A friend shared a delightful fable from the Middle Ages that speaks to me. A tiny sparrow was lying on its back in the middle of the road, its little legs pointing up toward the sky. A horseman came riding by, saw the sparrow, pulled his horse to a stop, dismounted, and asked, “Why are you lying in the road like that?” The sparrow responded, “I heard the sky was going to fall today.” The horseman laughed and exclaimed, “Oh? And do you expect to be able to support the sky on those spindly little legs of yours?” The sparrow shrugged his shoulders and said, “One does what one can!”
Well, yes! We are responsible in life to do what we can with who we are what we have. That’s all. We are not responsible for the gifts entrusted to others. We are responsible only for doing the best we can with what we have. And, in my own life, I have discovered the remarkable fact that once God has added His touch to our efforts, our efforts are enough.