What would your Wikipedia page say?

Yesterday in church, my pastor asked us to think about what our Wikipedia page would look like. What are the accomplishments that define us?  What would we put on our page? These questions are closely connected to thoughts that have been going through my head the last few days.  In just a few weeks I will turn 30.  For some reason, 30 seems big.  It is the start of a new decade.  It makes me question what I have done in my life so far... I'm turning 30, but feel like I have accomplished so little... more exactly, 30-year-old Rachel is not where 20-year-old Rachel thought she would be...

The point of the sermon was not to make us focus on our accomplishments.  Actually, it was opposite.  In Philippians 3:3-6, Paul lists his accomplishments and the reasons he should be confident, but then in verses 7-16, he calls these accomplishments rubbish. He says that his only worth and confidence comes from knowing Christ and living his life for Christ.

Prior to this sermon, I was planning a post that listed what I had accomplished in the last decade.  The goal was to say to myself, "see you have done something with your life." Through this sermon, I realized that nothing in my past, nor any of my accomplishments give me worth.  The only thing that gives me worth is living for Jesus.  In some ways this is freeing, because the pressure is not on me to accomplish great things.  Even if I don't meet my original goals, as long as I am honestly seeking after God and striving to live for him, I will have accomplished enough.  He places in my head goals that get me moving, but often the goals aren't what he wants for me.  It is the journey: "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Phil 3:14).

In the running of the race, in each step of life, am I doing things to make me known or to make God known?  Instead of asking what I have done with the last 10 years of my life, I should be asking: Who have I done things for and why?  When I focus on this, in my accomplishments and in my failures, I can see God directing my path and writing my story.

Last night, I laid in bed evaluating the past decade.  Through this exercise, I clearly saw God's hand weaving a path through my life.  It is this story I want to share.  I don't want to list my accomplishments as a form of bragging, but as an example of how God leads.  And since God has been leading me, it is okay for 30-year-old Rachel to not be where 20-year-old Rachel thought she would be, because God has been writing my story.  In everything I have tried to accomplish, I sought him first and did it to bring him glory.  30-year-old Rachel is where God wants her to be.

It will take some time to write this story, but I am excited to share with you how God has brought me where I am.