I’m scrolling through my social media in the wee hours of the night and this comes up…

Which made me stop in my tracks and reconsider my relationship with beef. It made me glad that the weather is bad because otherwise I’d mosey around the corner and get a plate. It also made me consider how my life may have been different had he decided to be a chef instead of a firefighter. The comment section helped me with that thought though.

A friend of his asked if he was considering a new career in retirement, to which he responded “just an extension of my old career”. Now I don’t know if you’ve ever stopped by your local firehouse and taken a tour, but they have some of the best kitchens in the world. Those chili cook-off things you see firefighters do are just the tip of the iceberg.Some of the best chefs I’ve ever experienced come from those kitchens.

Then the Word in it hit me. We tend to focus on what we think we want to be as if it’s a one-note pinnacle. My dad didn’t miss out on being a chef, he was a chef. He was also a firefighter. He was also a professional driver. He was also a trained EMT, and I can remember when money got tight he used that skill to also be a laser technician for surgical procedures. Why then, would I accept any criticism about always doing something different? I don’t, but I hear it.

None of us are just one thing. I’m reminded of the meme challenge that showed one person with two looks.”Get you somebody that can do both” the captions all read. It was fun, and hilariously ridiculous. As if it’s hard to believe that people change clothes. Yet, that’s how we treat one another.

My hope is that this reaches someone that’s sorting their way through life and feel like they have several things to offer. Offer them up! Life is short, the world is a crazy place and if you’ve been given a gift/talent you’re supposed to share it with the world to keep the “lights” on. When you hide the things that you can do the world misses out on just how bright things can be.

I cringe at this metaphor because it takes me back to music class in elementary school. God is working on my heart when it comes to thinking about that teacher. I’ll be 40 before you know it but “Let your light shine, Maggie” has lived rent free in my head as a trigger to times of frustration. She could hear my voice, knew I played piano and always pushed me to sing out. It caused my classmates to repeat her which felt like a death of 1,000 cuts to an introvert. However, now I choose to disarm it, and use it as a mantra. I offer it to you, my reader, just insert your own name and try not to say it like a chorus of obnoxious children.

Be everything that you are. The world needs all of it for one thing or another. It will all prove to serve you well at some point.

Thanks for reading. Here’s another food picture from my Dad.