Sometimes I think about the person who sat next to Blake Lively in high school. I wonder if anyone ever paid any attention to them behind Lively’s bubbly, loud personality and gorgeous good looks. What did Lively have that Barb in the second row didn’t?
As my time as an undergrad slowly comes to a close, I find myself reflecting on the past four years. I remember the jokes, laughs, tears, screams and silences endured after an event – and definitely after a bad formal date. However, one thing that I still find hard to believe is how much time I stared into the lives of other people.
And while I didn’t realize it then, I have finally realized it now – who gives a flying frick about the lives of Livelys?
Each of us were created differently by God for a specific purpose, time and place. Thus, we must learn to remain faithful to our own lane.
I’m not writing to the Livelys who identify with the Barbs in the room – although, you are more than welcome to take a seat. Rather, I am writing to the Barbs who force themselves to look down when encountering a Lively or yearn to be seen as a Lively, when their hearts, minds and wits are made for more capabilities.
I imagine Queen Esther as a Barb, since she was a Jewish girl who saw herself as weak and inferior to the Persian king, Ahasuerus. As the story goes, God helped her push through with the goodness found within her heart. He saw her for who she could be instead of what she saw in the mirror.
Esther became the best version of herself because of how much she focused on God’s plan for her life.
In Esther 4:14, it reads “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” It is evident Mordecai sees Esther for the great queen she was meant to be and challenges her to think about her future as well as the future of her people.
Today, many of us (including myself) have chosen to spend time wanting to be a Lively – full of attention, insecurities and the means to fund those insecurities. However, it is in times like these where I have seen how great it is to stay in your own lane – how great it is to be a Barb.
In Micah 6:8, we are encouraged by the prophet Micah of Moresheth to “act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” In the same way, we must want to walk with God in our own lane – the lane specifically created and intended for us.
To all the Barbs, I say to you this: Forget the annoying, cackling Lively trying to grab the attention of your favorite teacher or person you’ve liked for months on end. Forget about the Livelys bumping into you and not saying a single ‘excuse me’ as they continue to walk in their gaudy attire.
Remember how, like Esther, you were created for such a time as this, and it is because of God’s perfect plan that you will receive the reward, recognition and crown as desired.
Forget the Livelys of the world. Be a Barb.
