On Being a Wii

For the past few years I have been hinting to my hubby that I would like to have a Wii game system. I've rationalized this desire with arguments like, "I could get in shape with it, they have a great fitness program!" Another one I tried was, "We could go dancing, bowling, or have a date night right here at home!Think about all the money you could save!" I've also played the "pity me" angle, "I don't ask for much and after all it is my birthday (Christmas, anniversary, etc.)" So far, none of these arguments have been successful and I still don't have my own Wii game system. My arguments for this new toy may have come to a halt after a message was shared today during the memorial service at UMC Annual Conference.

What I heard was, "I am not a "me" I am a "we". I am made up of a part of everyone who has touched my life or whose life I have touched." As I reflected on that statement, my mind could not help but think of all of the people who have touched my life and influenced me to be the person I am becoming. In the same way, my mind wandered to the scores of people who I have come into contact with and been privileged to leave my fingerprint on their lives. The next thought that jumped into my mind as I listened to the names being read of the clergy and laity that had served the Methodist Church so faithfully was, "Have I lived my life following Jesus' example?" Is there any way we can measure that example?

John Wesley is oft times quoted as saying, "Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can." As an example of accountability in the Methodist Church, maybe this is one way we can use to measure ourselves and the way we have touched another person's life. I for one intend to think how a word, a smile, a touch, can leave a fingerprint on someone's life. Maybe then I will become more aware of the fingerprints that are being left on my life and the loving example's God is sharing with me each day as I continue to become more of who "We" are called to be, instead of trying to be more "me".

"Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us." - Romans 12:4-6a