I feel like Oprah.
Well, minus the extensive staff, billionaire status, a shoe collection that is more valuable than my sexy minivan and people hanging on my every word and all…
I still, feel like Oprah.
Though I don’t watch Oprah, the picture of her in her skinny jeans years ago (do you remember that one with the black shirt and black belt with silver buckle?), rings just as fresh in my memory as both my sons new-born pictures. Why this is, I don’t really know. Well, maybe I actually do. People celebrate others that have looked adversity square in the face, counted the costs, went for it…and succeeded.
Like Oprah, I’ve gotten to my goal weight and then rose up to the occasion. Believe me, I’ve changed Lucy’s batteries…twice. And, it’s not her fault. Does 3 pounds from my goal weight make me unsuccessful or, gasp…a failure?
How about, am I more successful than Oprah because I currently weigh less than her?
Cha, no.
Okay, using a well know media mogul as the example may seem a tad extreme, but these are the thoughts I’ve seen myself and others wrestle with.
Let’s play the gong show.
I’ll be successful when I wear the skinniest of skinny jeans? Gong.
When I earn what Oprah makes? Gong.
When I have as beautiful of a shoe collection? Gong.
When I have my own TV show or even my own magazine? Gong.
When I do a marathon, Oprah did a marathon ya know? Gong.
What truly is success? Is it dropping down to a slice of your old self? Getting a new house built? Finding a man? Running a 5 K? Having kids? Driving a sexy minivan? Having big beautiful hair? Creating world peace?
Nope.
Well, maybe.
This past weekend I saw a picture of Oprah in the grocery check out lane. While I think she’s beautiful, I also think she’s gained weight back from that skinny jean picture branded on my brain.
So does that make her less successful?
I used to very excitedly gauge my success on spiffy titles. When I pinned on my Second Lieutenant bars, when I earned my badge and credentials, when I married, when I finally, became a mother, when I arrived at my goal weight, and I could go on…
The way I gauge success now, is not by a title or a number. It is simply: Success is an honest and earnest pursuit of God. That may entail a missions trip, remaining single, getting married, leaving a job, staying in the same job, reaching out for help, staying put, may mean losing weight, or for some (AMBER!) – gaining weight, moving to an entirely different culture, or just smiling at a person that drives you absolutely nutso, just cause God wants ya to!
The only way you’ll know how to measure true success is by a daily ongoing conversation with God. It is not by public opinions…or sometimes even by your own opinion…it’s by God’s opinon.
Okay, after typing like this, I no longer feel like Oprah, but I feel like me…and for right now, that’s okay with me. And so I’ll step down from my soap box and ask, what do you think of Oprah? Oh yeah, what defines success to you? 
