Life Coaching: Childhood Games And The Dud

When I was a kid, my sister and I had a game called “Mystery Date.” It was a weird little game, the premise of which was to open a door and get a dream date with a guy holding a carnation or a set of skis. But then, there was the Dud…a messy dude with rumpled hair who resembled John Belushi in The Thing That Wouldn’t Leave. No one wanted the Dud. Except…me. I always thought the Dud looked more fun than the buttoned down carnation holder or the preppie with the skis. The Dud had been places. The Dud knew things. The Dud was a rock star…I had questions for the Dud. My mother was disturbed.

When I look back on those moments of nonconformity in my life, I am ashamed to say that’s it’s taken me all these years to embrace who I am—a Dud lover. I revel in the unusual. I dance with the odd. I examine the different. And I actually kinda love that about myself. It took me years to figure out I loved the Dud because I AM THE DUD! I am the one who’s a little out of sync. I’m the one who is content with funky costume jewelry when I could’ve had a diamond. I’m the one who has curly toes. I’m the one who has ice cream stains on her tee shirt. I am the one who sits in quarantine and makes weird videos. I am indeed the Dud. And I like myself and I like Duds.

it’s ok to be a nonconformist in a world that tries to stuff us into a box. We were created to be individuals who worship God in unique individual ways. Maybe we shout it from the rooftops, or maybe we whisper it in the basements, but our hearts soar in His majesty as we uniquely and corporately contemplate His greatness and His goodness.

Don’t despise the Dud. The Dud hears his own drummer, however measured or far away. The Dud is going about his business, happily fulfilling his purpose and his calling. The Dud wasn’t scared to knock at the door exactly the way he was, humble, messy and broken. He KNEW he was a Dud. Yet, he knocked. He stood unashamed in his “Dud-ness” and he was ready to rumble.

There are worse things to be. As I embrace my “Dud-ness” this morning, I am happy in who I am. Are you? What can you do to embrace your uniqueness? What can you turn over to God to be used for His glory? What steps can you take? What does it look like to you? These are questions to contemplate today, while we have time on our hands.

Here’s a little secret: We are all Duds. Jesus just wipes the crust out of our eyes, pulls us out of a mud pit and plants us firmly on solid ground. He love our “Dud-ness”. And He always will.