The world is filled with people of all shapes and sizes and persuasions and colors and attitudes and strengths and weaknesses. We are all different, unique, formed by our life experiences. We have a range of expectations and hopes and dreams, but when you are born in the USA, you have the opportunity to achieve anything you go after, no matter where you are from.
Some people have advantages, of course. If you live in the city, bigger schools mean more educational opportunities and extra curricular activities that smaller town people don't experience. There are more jobs, which are higher paying, and a wider variety of leisure activities are available more easily. When you live there, it is easy to imagine that city life is all there is, and people who live in the more rural parts of the country lack initiative.
Nothing could be further from the truth. There is a lot of education, intelligence, and thoughtfulness out here in the hinterland. In addition, while we have given up some of those opportunities, we have gained other advantages that are less obvious, but for those of us who live here, more important.
I grew up in the small town where I now live. My mother has lived here her entire life, and my grandparents and great-grandparents as well. I am a part of this town, and its history. We support each other, uplift those in need, and celebrate each other's victories.
I was reminded of this over the last few days when our small town wrestling team went to, and ultimately won, the state championship. My facebook feed is blowing up with congratulations to the boys and their families who have worked so hard and succeeded on this larger stage. Being small is not the same thing as thinking small, as we saw last night. We can be small, and yet mighty.
No matter where we are from, opportunity is there for us, if we work for our dreams. We are small, but God is all powerful. He has a plan for us, and whatever our life experience, it can happen if we trust him and follow the path he has set out for us.
Today I am grateful to be from a small town. I am small, but God is great, and this life is good. It is all I need.
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