“Do you want your life to be better, worse, or to stay the same?" Michael Scott
Updated: Feb 12, 2021
Dear Collective Co,
God isn’t ordinary. He can’t be, but He takes ordinary moments and makes them supernatural. Like how He uses Michael Scott and Brené Brown to draw me closer to the life He desires for me. Let me explain. Two days ago, Madeline and I were watching The Office on Netflix. It was the episode where Michael Scott tries to steal and hire their competitor’s good-looking top salesman, Danny Cordray (played by Timothy Olyphant). As Michael Scott slams the door closed on Danny in order that he cannot escape, (in a typical, irrational Michael Scott way) Michael Scott utters these words, “Do you want your life to be better, worse, or to stay the same?” Great question. Last night, Madeline and I were re-watching (yes, re-watching) Brené Brown’s, A Call to Courage with my in-laws. As Mads and I were hanging onto every word Brené Brown spoke—she uttered something along these words to the crowd, “Who in here wouldn’t want more love, more joy, more happiness in your relationships, in your marriages, in your workplaces?” Great question. One way to recognize God’s voice is consistency in the people and world around you. Is there a message that seems to be consistently speaking to you? I felt as though there has been for me—even through Michael Scott and Brené Brown. The message is something along the lines of: Can your life be more?
Now that question scares the hell out of me.
Why does it scare me so badly? Because I know the cost. I know that in the morning before my feet hit the floor, the old me needs to die so that the new me can live. The old me drains the life out of everyone around me. The old me is consumed with selfishness and thoughts like, “How can I build a bigger platform for the world to know me? How can I get my wife to do things my way? If people would just listen to me and do what I say, we’d be doing better” That person, needs to die—daily. Can your life be more? Scary question. I see the gap between where I am, and where I want to be, and I am becoming more and more convinced that apart from grace—I’ll never bridge the gap. When it comes to true growth and development, things get worse before they get better, and without grace, I would stay in the worse place. Not just any grace, but an unordinary grace that transcends understanding, culture, and the common narrative. Only when grace consumes me, can I continue moving forward—despite the mess of a person I am. Can your life be more? May the grace of Jesus carry you forward as you walk.
all for Love, Corey Garrity