What Will You Become?

"Is it true," a young boy asked his mother, "that we are made of
dust?"

"Yes," she said.

"And is it true that we go back to dust again when we die?" he
continued.

"Yes, dear."

"Well, Mommy, when I looked under my bed I saw someone who was coming
or going, but I don't know which."

I'm afraid to look under MY bed....

There are times that we feel as if we don't know whether we are coming
or going. But this little boy doesn't have to worry about people
coming and going underneath his bed.

But did you know that all things are coming and going in a different
way? Even people are constantly reshaped, remolded and re-created! Not
from dust bunnies, but from life itself. Let me
explain.

The Rocky Mountains in which I live are reshaped every year. Wind,
water and ice erode them away about three inches every 1,000 years.
That isn't much, but they are being re-formed all the time. A 10,000
foot peak will vanish every 40 million years! In fact, today's Rocky
Mountains are the third version of earlier mountains that rose out of
volcanic turbulence and eroded through the passage of time.

We may not see much of a difference in ourselves from day to day, but
we, too, are shaped and reshaped. Everything that happens to us, the
good and the bad, leaves its mark. Actually, we are not even the
people we were yesterday!

But unlike mountains, we have a hand in our re-creation. Harsh
experiences can erode and destroy, or we can use them to call forth
beautiful inner qualities. Illness can actually create within us an
attitude of compassion for others who suffer. Loss can help build
strong bonds with others who care. Suffering of all kinds can be used
to strengthen our faith.

Even good times can leave us different than they found us. We can use
joy to hone a sense of humor and pleasant memories to cultivate a
heart of gratitude. Everything shapes us. You and I are being
re-created every minute of every day.

We are quite literally in the process of "becoming." The possibilities
are exciting and wonderful. In a short time from now, you will be a
different person than you are today.

The important question is: What will you become? Something
extraordinary can happen when that question is answered seriously.
What will you become? Your very life depends on your answer!

Steve Goodier