We are all Bruce Jenner and Rachel Dolezal

One would have to blind and living in a cave to not be familiar with the Bruce Jenner story. The famous Olympian champion who graced the Wheaties box when I was a kid, now wants to be a woman. Unfortunately, the media - conservative and liberal alike - have helped make this misguided man a media sensation.

 And then more recently is the story of Rachel Dolezal. Her story may not be as well known, since she is more of a disgrace than a hero in the eyes of the media. This white young woman has been passing herself off as a black woman for the last several years and was even the president of her local NAACP chapter, which is an organization of black people.

  For some reasons most of us cannot understand or relate to, Bruce Jennings wanted more than anything to be a woman. And that is nothing against women. Rachel Dolezal wanted to be a black person for reasons we cannot comprehend, and that is nothing against black people.

  We marvel and scoff at the idea of people wanting to be a different gender or race, but are we that different from Bruce or Rachel. (I refuse to call him a her or Caitlin - one cannot truly change gender)

  Many of us spend our lives wanting to be something else, be someone else. We want to be rich, famous, blond, brunette, and the list goes on. We are never happy with who we are and what we are.

  Today, a well-built man walked into the ER, and I was impressed. This guy was a hunk and obviously took care of himself. I immediately found myself comparing myself to him and thinking thoughts I battle around nice-looking guys. He told me what he was there for, then said it may be connected to his MS. Yeah, MS. This nice-looking and well-built guy standing by my desk didn't have everything going for him after all. He suffers from the debilitating disease multiple sclerosis. That puts a whole new spin on my wanting to be like him or be him.

  I have a friend who is an amazing man of God. I love his heart and when I am around him, which is on rare occasions we are at the same conference, I find myself wishing I was more like him...... yet I know his story. I know what he has gone through to become the man of faith that he is, and you know what? I wouldn't want to go through the things he has gone through that have shaped him into the man he is today.

  It is so easy to criticize Bruce and Rachel for wanting to be what  they are not. I and so many others spend our days wishing we were something else, wishing we were something else, wishing we were like someone else......... and never being thankful for what we have, and what we are like. Could I stand some improvements? You bet. But I tend to look at myself and see all of my bad points. I see everything about me I don't like, and overlook the good points and talents I do have.

 I am not saying we should never seem to improve our lot in life or improve ourselves, but it should be done by seeking God's will, and He will never be OK with us trying to change our gender or race. Bruce, Rachel, nor us will ever be happy being anything but what God wants us to be. And the only person we should wish and seek to be like, is Jesus.

  There is one thing God is more than OK with us changing. We are born in sin. We are children of the devil, but we can all come to the cross and repent and become children of the King of Kings. Why would we want to be anything but that? Trying to change race or gender, changing hair color, body styles,  or financial status, or anything else that is temporal.... those things cannot and will not ever make us happy. There is no use wishing for them. True happiness and satisfaction can only be found in not a sex change surgery, but a heart surgery by God Himself.

  Life is so short. It is way too short to spend our days wishing we are what we are not. The only solution for our dissatisfaction is to surrender our lives, our will, our dreams, and our wishes to Jesus, to take up our cross, deny ourselves, and follow Him.