“Will I be rich and famous?”
This is from the mouth of my 8 year old daughter when I asked her if she would pose for a photo for my blog post!
“Why?.. Do you want to be rich and famous?”
No hesitation:
“Yes”.
Her older sister asks her “What will you be famous for?”, but I am thinking beyond activities. I want to guide my daughter on the right path with her aspiration…
“Do you want to be a role model then?…
Because if you were rich and famous you would be a role model. You would have influence on other people.”
Pause. No response. To either question actually. I do make me laugh at least… It’s probable I’m just a bit much when you’re just 8 years old! Oh well.
Perhaps we all fancy being rich and famous at some time…
Is it superficial, this desire for fame and riches?… I try to stop and remind myself to be careful not to taint my daughter’s fantastic enthusiasm with my stern and parental pre-judgement. Who am I to know whether those dreams are God-given to be used for His purposes?
I used to have a dream to be an actor…
From when I was a kid until my late 20s I performed on stage often. I adored acting and I think I was good at it. At any rate, I won acting parts and awards in New Zealand. At university, I studied film-making and literature after I finished there, I went on to Drama School. I had an amazing time as an actor in training for a few years and after that :
For a short while, I experienced the reality of being a professional actor.
The challenge was – although I love acting – I found that “being a working actor” didn’t fulfil my expectations. The acting work I did was a series of disconnected jobs and, as a consequence, my progress as an actor felt very stop-start. I wish I’d realised back then that “the job of being an actor is auditioning”, just as the actor James Corden wrote in his autobiography.
In hindsight, I think I entered the acting profession putting art, skill and development of my craft way above marketability. But acting, of course, is also about appearances and some of those are superficial…
Reality hit!
To be a successful working actor, not only do you have to be in the right place at the right time. Also:
You’ve got to look the part to get the part!
That’s the way of this world it seems (or the worldly way). Though I try to teach my kids not to pre-judge people on their appearance, I actually think my sage teenage daughter is spot on when she retorts:
“But Mum, you do judge a book by it’s cover! Of course you do…
How else will you have any idea what’s inside?”
After a while, I understood that my desire to be an actor was not really strong enough to continue living my life trying to be a working actor. My thought processes got in the way of my inclinations to act…
The Lure of Anonymity
For a start, although at times fame seemed slightly alluring, I never fully fancied the idea of becoming famous. That poses a bit of a problem for an actor in a sparsely-populated country like New Zealand. In order to get regular paid work as an actor it helps if you are also a marketable commodity to your theatrical or filmed production.
The person becomes the saleable product. (Is it just me, or does that sound vulgar to you too?)
Fame, in my mind, equalled invasion.
Although I’m a friendly person, I treasure the freedom of my anonymity.
I count anonymity, in fact, as one of the delightful benefits of living in a big city…
Where I live now in London UK, I’ve felt the freedom of anonymity as I never did before.
Be from Wherever!
There are so many different accents and languages spoken here in London. So it’s only rarely, even when I’m chatting to someone new, that anyone comments on my New Zealand accent – even though it’s quite different from the London accent our kids have.
Believe Whatever you want!
Here in London, even where it may not fit with popular opinion, if I mention that I’m Christian, I don’t feel that I’m considered rather strange. Personally, I’ve experienced Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jew, Atheist etc. living side by side here with a feeling of mutual respect around our differences.
Wear Whatever you want as well!
There’s a “live and let live” attitude in London when it comes to clothing, or even lack thereof!
Where I live, for example, people don’t bat an eyelid to see women with their heads and faces covered for religious reasons. Even so, sprawling in the same park, there may be young women and men baring expanses of flesh to any shard of sunlight. On our road, there’s a healthy-looking young woman who often walks out to the supermarket in her dressing gown and slippers. That is very unusual. But no other neighbour has commented that I know of.
I imagine London as a vast treasure chest packed full of colourful gems from all over. You can be whoever and however without necessarily being singled out as abnormal!
Go ahead – We don’t care!
Ironically, that’s the power and the danger of anonymity right there. Join the queue! No one minds and mostly no one cares how or who you choose to be or believe or act.
And in some respects I think: how lovely….Though in other other respects: how “ironical” of me!
- Because actually I believe there is someone who cares and that by my association with Him and by His grace I also need to be and become someone who cares.
(Just incase you never scroll down to my inevitable stirring message at the bottom of this blog-post ;) I believe Jesus cares.)
- If I like the idea of anonymity so much, what am I doing writing this then?.. popping these writings off like messages in bottles onto the ocean of the internet…where – eek – any one might read them and click on the links and find my face and my story and – double eek – criticise them.
Imagine facing the pressure of the limelight and public criticism all the time. Having your best intentions dissected, your opinions scrutinised, your honour questioned and having people think they know you because they know all about you…
Like Brian Houston
Recently, as he was doing signings of his new book, I briefly met Brian Houston. He is a man who has persistently stepped out to lead others to Christ and build church. He is the senior global pastor of our church, Hillsong. And there I am also taking ownership with my use of possessive pronouns: Brian is the senior pastor of my church and has been for the last 16 or so years! Haha!
Consequently, I’ve heard Brian speaking so many times over the past 16 years or so that I feel I know him. And although we now have a church of many thousands of people, I , for one, have probably read all of Brian’s books. Not only that but I totally adore his wife Bobbie and relish her teaching.
Not only that but Brian comes from the exactly same part of New Zealand as I do!
Naturally, as I queued up for Brian to sign my book I felt relaxed and excited like I was going to see an old friend again. Forget the fact that we’ve never actually met before; I didn’t feel at all like a fangirl or groupie. Not at all.
So when I finally reached the front of the queue and Brian, with kind eyes and friendly conversation asked :
“Where are you from? It felt a little strange that I had to “remind” him… “Upper Hutt”.
And yet he was amazed – almost as if this was news to him –
“I’m from Lower Hutt”! he exclaimed.
So I told him, because I think I’m hilarious…”I know….” I lowered the tone of my voice for effect:
“I know all about you!”
Yes, I was trying to be funny. Yes, it did not work. Yes, instead I may have freaked Brian out because I seemed a little like a crazed stalker. (I also got straight back into the queue to have Brian sign a second book for a friend.)
Oh my goodness, I can be soooooo embarrassing. (Between you and me I don’t feel embarrassed at all really, I’m just saying that in case my kids read this story). Because of course Brian does NOT know me. I had never met him before. Why would he? And although, frankly, I think the Holy Spirit in Brian could have done me a favour by letting Brian in on my joke, I do understand why Brian does not know me…
Brian is NOT God! He is just a man.
And aren’t we just asking for trouble when we set anyone other than God on a pedestal?
Happily, there is someone who is exponentially more important and amazing and awe-inspiring than Brian Houston.
Some One?…
The Three in One! The Lord God Almighty : Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Perfect and good and true and loving.
The One who actually does know and value me so much that He gave His son to die for me. In the form of the Holy Spirit, He is already right here with me. Jesus, “the visible image of the invisible God”, has made the way for me to be His friend. I can walk right up to the Lord God Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth all because Jesus died for my sins and cleared the path for me to believe and receive His gift of grace.
Free Access Pass: Come As You Are!
In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. (Ephesians 3: 12)
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16 KJV)
When it comes to my Lord and Saviour, I don’t even have to queue!
So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into “the Holy Place.” Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God. The “curtain” into God’s presence is his body.
So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. (Hebrews 10: 19-22. “Message”)
What are we waiting for?
Let’s DO IT! Walk right up to God, into “the Holy Place”
CONFIDENT THAT WE’RE PRESENTABLE!
I love that I have a free access pass that takes me directly to the throne of grace.
Wow! What do you do with that?…
What do I with that?
For myself, Grace has made me Reckless!
I mainly just care what He thinks. I don’t even care too much what people think.
“Haters gonna hate. I’m just gonna shake.”
I can identify with Taylor Swift and Pink on this feeling of confidence:
“So what, I’m still a rock star…”
I mean in God’s eyes! That’s the confidence I feel about life in Christ anyhow.
I am the part He made.
And the great thing about it is: I can play my part just with what I have and who I am. I don’t have to act or be anyone else. I don’t have to improve my craft or audition to get the part. I don’t even have to be in the right place at the right time for God to use me. I just need to “Seek first His Kingdom” right where I am. Because He made me for such a time as this:
I’ve got the part already!
I love it that I don’t have to look the part to God. He never judges me by my external appearance. I am completely accepted in everything just the way I am, by his grace. I am empowered by His grace to take each step on this journey to fulfil the potential He has placed in me.
Whatever life brings, I will hold onto my Confidence in Christ!
So here I am. This is me. Writing a blog post. Showing my face. Sharing my experience of God’s amazing grace. No longer anonymous.
“Will I be rich and famous?”…
Why? For whose purposes?
For anyone seeking fame and riches, even my fun-loving 8 year old daughter, those are important questions.
NB. Do you have your confidence in Christ yet?
So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. (Hebrews 10: 35 )