It’s not about ME!

As a graduate staff member of Helping Up Mission’s Spiritual Recovery Program, I could write several entries regarding the lessons I’ve learned since entering HUM in March 2006. Last week, I wrote about the most profound lesson I learned – that to “WIN”, I needed to SURRENDER. Surrender my life, my will, and my brokenness to my Heavenly Father, who delights in meeting us “at the end of ourselves.”
I count this statement as the second most profound lesson – “It is not about ME.” I was not created and placed on this Earth to pursue my own dreams, my own ambitions, or my own plans. Chasing after these achievements and successes would not adequately fill the God-shaped hole in my soul. And, to paraphrase Bono, lead singer for U2 – I had not found what I was truly looking for. I was all about GETTING, and not about GIVING.
So, in our bible study classes with Pastor Gary Byers, I began learning the TRUTH of the gospel – and I paid attention for the first time in my life (42 years at that point). And reading Purpose-Driven Life – What On Earth Am I Here For (by Rick Warren), I read about God’s true purposes for my life on Earth.  And the first “Point to Ponder” in the book – “It’s NOT about ME.”
I can honestly say that these truths were very, very liberating for me. I felt the pressure lift that I didn’t have to keep driving, striving, and thriving to achieve professional, material, and reputational success. Because in chasing the “American Dream” – as defined in the world – I was completely missing the point of loving God, and loving others! But, in focusing on these true purposes – contained in God’s living WORD, I could also focus on GIVING, and not on GETTING.
And I know I’m not the only Spiritual Recovery Program graduate to feel this way. I stay connected with many other men who have changed their way of believing, thinking, and behaving. In the process, their lives are restored, and they are GIVING of themselves – at home, in church and in the community.
So, if you’re wondering if lives are being saved and changed at Helping Up Mission… be confident that the answer is a resounding YES.
With that…I’ll keep coming’ back,
Kris Sharrar
Director of Development