“You can’t change him” my sister said to me “I don’t want to change him” I said, knowing full well
it’s impossible to change anyone anyway “I want to find him,” I said, surprised by my own words. But I quickly
realized it was true. I didn’t want
to change him; I didn’t want to change anyone. I wanted to find who they
already were, deep inside, and pull it out for all to see. Wipe off the years
of caked on mud and dirt and find the gem of a person God had created.
I have this funny way of being able to see who God created
someone to be. Beneath the dirt and grime I can see the gem inside. Perhaps I
will write another post going deeper into that at some point. Anyway… So there
I was, thinking about how I know, deep in my heart, who this friend of mine was
supposed to be. Who God had called him to be and how amazing his life will be
in the future. How he was a gem, a true “diamond in the rough” if you will
(yes, shameless Aladdin reference there… I’m a Disney freak what can I say?)
And I realized we all are just that…
Every single one of us is a gem; hidden beneath a pile of
rock, and dirt, and mud of our own creation. We have put up walls and found
ways to distract ourselves from what hurts us instead of facing it and growing
stronger from it. We all have those bad habits and dark pasts that build up
around us, making it harder to find our true selves amidst the mud. We all have
created fake personalities to feel less vulnerable. But the real us is in there
somewhere. It’s a gem lost inside the mess.
So no, I don’t want to change anyone. I don’t want to change
my friend. It’s impossible to truly change someone anyway. Only God can do that,
and even then all he’s doing is exposing the gem he had already placed within.
But I do want to help find that gem. I want to help chip away that dirt and
grime, the bad habits and fake personalities, scrape away the dirt of the past
and find the real gem beneath it all. Because we are all gems, just waiting to
be dug out, cleaned off, and made to shine as we are meant to.
