My Artifact Speech in Public Speaking

The artifact I have brought to class is a leather beanie of a Triceratops. My sister bought it for me over the summer during a C.I.Y. trip. Ever since I’ve been a little child, dinosaurs have held an interest in my mind. To be completely blunt, I think they are the most beautiful creatures God has ever created. When not hanging out with friends, I spent much of my days reading books on dinosaurs and taking notes, even writing a dinosaur encyclopedia with dinosaur biographies and several articles.

When I heard God’s voice calling me to serve Him, my passion for dinosaurs kept, in my opinion, getting in the way. I was torn between two polar careers—ministry or paleontology? The thought of abandoning my passion for dinosaurs tore me apart; I simply couldn’t dream of giving up my dinosaur books and movies, much less denying my passion altogether. Yet something told me that I had to give it up if I wanted to serve God. It seemed to make sense, so I continued trying to deny my passion.

It never worked. Sometimes I would be able to crucify the passion for months on end, but the passion would always come back, strong and without warning. Sometimes I would just wake up at two in the morning with my heart pounding, the passion there all the more. A whisper in the back of my mind spoke: “You’re such a terrible person.” Here I stood, desiring my discipleship to Christ to deepen, and my desire for dinosaurs—as silly and weird as it sounds—standing in the way.

Then I read the words of Gerald May: “There is a desire within each of us, in the deep center of ourselves that we call our heart. We were born with it, it is never completely satisfied, and it never dies. We are often unaware of it, but it is always awake… Our true identity, our reason for being, is to be found in this desire.”

His words seemed to contradict everything I had come to believe. The quote struck me deep, and traumatized by its words I took it to God in prayer, and this is what, through circumstances and conversations and scripture, He told me:

“I had you in mind even before the creation of the universe, and I designed you in My image. The passion for dinosaurs that you have is but a glimpse of the passion for dinosaurs that I have. I have given it to you. But because of the Fall, because of sin, your purpose is not to be attained in this life. I call you now to something greater; I call you to ministry, I call you to take the Message of My Son to those who’ve never heard it, and to those who’ve heard it so much that they’ve actually forgotten the beauty of it. Do not forsake your desire; it is a gift I have given you, an intimate part of Me that has been put on you. Remember: this life is coming to an end. When all is said and done and Satan is banished, I will recreate the universe, re:spin all its stars and galaxies, trees and animals, and dinosaurs will be included. It is here that your eternal purpose is fulfilled—you will study my creatures as an act of worship towards Me. It is what I designed you to do, and it is who I’ve designed you to be. Yes, you are a creature made in My image.”

My sister bought this thinking it would be just another trinket to collect dust. Yet for me, it’s something so much more. It is a reminder. A reminder that my destiny is forged in eternity, where my purpose—the deep hunger of my soul—will be fulfilled in God’s eternal and wonderful Kingdom! A divine dance in a restored universe.