What part do you get to play?

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By Betty Slade | PREVIEW Columnist

A good story will end where it begins. A good life will come full circle and be the perfect character chosen for the part. We are the right person designed to play the part He casts in His story.

That character will steal your heart as he or she battles fear, pride, greed or some other flaw. That person will make you mad and glad at the same time. Do you remember JR Ewing? He was a mess, but the show wouldn’t have been as successful without him. The Lorimar Productions produced the CBS TV series “Dallas” and it ran from 1978 to 1991. We couldn’t help but wait to see what JR was up to next.

I can hear one of my favorite lines from JR: “Well, Mama, wouldn’t that tear the rag off the bush.” His creator and writers knew his character so well, he successfully carried the story.

God made us in our mother’s wombs and will receive us at the end of our days, done or undone. It’s whom we get to be. Wow! I love it. In your story, you’re not a supporting actor, you are the main character and you’ll make the role successful or not.

There’s a lot of influence throughout one’s life. There is trouble and heartbreak, too. But, it’s what’s inside of us that will spur us on to be whom we are meant to be and come to a satisfying end.

How many times have we said, “I am so glad I get to be me?” Probably, too few times and far between. We spend our whole lives opposing ourselves by condemning who we are. We even think someone else has a more charmed and exciting life. It’s because we don’t understand how God made us and the story He wants to live through us.

God says He doesn’t ask anything from us unless he gives it to us. It’s human nature to spend time finding fault with our shortcomings and what we lack. All those things make us who we are.

I woke up this morning thinking, I’ve done a lot of apologizing for the wrong things I’ve said and done. I finally understand why God made me the way He did. 

My Sweet Al and I watched a documentary on David Foster, one of the greatest music producers of our time. He made great talent greater, but lacked in the family department.

His name is associated with Josh Groban, Michael Buble, Whitney Houston and Andrea Bocelli. Each one praised him because he made them better in their craft. He caused them to soar to the top of their industry while his kids from several marriages were going to therapy.

The thing that struck me the most was what happened to Chicago, the rock band he made great, but without them paying a price. The band needed someone to help them out of a slump. They hired Foster, then a young genius who was difficult to work with. There was only one way: Foster’s way.

Chicago had a certain sound. Foster changed the sound, but not without a fight. The band made it big, thanks to Foster, but they were not satisfied when they lost who they were.

In an interview,Peter Cetera, lead vocalist and bassist of Chicago, said even though Foster turned their music into a million-dollar business and raised their fame, they lost being Chicago. 

He said, “We lost the sound of Chicago. We didn’t sound like us.”

I told my daughter about the Chicago band’s story. 

She said, “That’s interesting. I just watched an interview with Lindsey Vonn, the American alpine skier who won four women’s World Cup overall championships.” 

Vonn had instructors who wanted to change how she skied to make her go faster. At a very young age, Vonn had an old instructor who said she skied fast enough for her age and how she was built. In his years of coaching, the old wise man knew something the young didn’t know. He told them not to change Vonn. That’s how she was made.

I talked to a successful businessman who said after 20 years of being someone else, climbing the corporate ladder and finding himself at the top, he paid the price. He became someone he wasn’t. The power people insisted he became who they wanted him to be. He said, being in Pagosa, he is finally himself. In a plaid flannel shirt, he is comfortable in his own skin. He said, “I don’t have to prove myself. I don’t have to play anybody’s game. I like being me.”

All three of these stories had great success by the world standard. The Chicago band regrettably changed and is still talking about it today. The young skier didn’t change and listened to an old pro. The businessman came back to who he was intended to be and satisfied. Even the fictional character JR was designed for the story in the creator’s mind.

A footnote in The Passion Bible, taken from 11 Timothy 2:10, reads: “Paul calls those as the chosen ones in Christ. The Greek word for ‘chosen’ is embedded within the word logos. God’s chosen ones have been chosen by the word of God to become a living word sent from his mouth to reveal the message of their destiny.”

God has spoken us into existence as He formed us in our mothers’ wombs. By His word, we become a living word sent from His mouth to reveal our destiny. We don’t dare tamper with who God says we are. If so, we will play a different part, but it will be less satisfying.

The world will oppose us as to who they think we are and what God intended for us. If we listen to them, we will oppose our own souls. Only when we discover truth will we discover ourselves again. He knows how He fit us into His story, and how we are to play the part.

Final brushstroke: This freckle-faced little blonde girl from Manassa, Colo., with creative DNA and big ideas is who I am. I realized how I fit into my character and am satisfied with me. I finally can say, “When God chose the part, I got to play me.”

Send your comment to bettyslade@centurytel.net.

Views expressed do not necessarily represent those of The SUN.