Significance, not Success

One of the things that we knew would be a challenge in returning to Spokane, was about where God would call us to worship. We had a church home of around 14 years, one we had loved, served, been cared for, made lifelong friendships and so much more...but we felt that God was calling us to a change when we returned.
Today, we visited a church called Real Life, which if you're from Northern Idaho, or Eastern Washington, is a legacy in these parts (maybe even farther?) Pastor Nathan Rector has an amazing gift for teaching and having a keen sense of our human nature and knowing how to reveal it. He talked about some of the "Epic Failures," that Peter had and yet, how God used him in amazing and miraculous ways! "Life is not about success, but SIGNIFICANCE," stated Pastor Nathan.

As I've continued to process through the journey we've been through, my "identity" has come into question. Not so much how I view myself, but how I think or want others to view me. This is proving a difficult challenge for me, I suppose self-inventory always is. I've been able to justify many decisions and choices we've made through other means, but when I begin to identify my wants and needs through the eyes of how others may judge or view me, things become cloudy. Something about thinking that others see me as successful drives me at times. Having had so much taken or given away, as we have, my identity has been challenged. Some days I have clawed and fought to keep some of the old me, my old life, the life of "success" and prosper. We've had our challenges, as in building any business, but in general, the wave continued upward...until it didn't! I'm mostly speaking financially, but we collected and added over the years. If I really believe what God says though, there is no promise of earthly riches and fame. As we begin anew, trying to keep ourselves grounded and rooted in God's Truth's, every decision, every purchase, every move, my human ideals have to be disputed. God is the One to bring my justifications to. His measure is not likened to mine, He's measuring Significance, not Success!