Inspire, Spring 2007

Inspire 23 she told God that she felt like a failure at witnessing. She shared, “I pretty much told God that I was going to leave it up to Him to just show me the opportunities. I was going to stop trying to force doors to open.” That day a friend asked her what her minor was at college. Aimee was surprised at the question, but it allowed her to share about her Bible minor at Cedarville. God opened a huge door that day for her to share her beliefs with a friend. She realized the importance of letting God open doors and being willing to follow His lead. Another lesson Aimee is learning is that being a light in Hollywood is actually quite similar to being a light in Cedarville. For all their differences in size and lifestyle, both cities are home to people — people who want someone to care about them. God is teaching Aimee that showing people love is the first step in sharing the gospel. She is learning that people do not necessarily care about her relationship with Christ when they first meet her. What they care about is whether she cares about them as a person. Therefore, as she pursues her dream of acting, her desire is to genuinely love the people God brings across her path and trust Him to open up doors to share the gospel. Aimee also desires to represent Christ well in her acting career. Hollywood isn’t exactly known for its moral decency or family-friendly movies, so how do Christians blend their desire to “make it big” with their desire to be a Christ-follower? Aimee is thankful for classes at Cedarville that helped her think through some of these difficult issues. She remembers classes in which her professors led discussions, challenging students to decide where they should draw the line in acting. She was encouraged to decide what she was and was not comfortable with doing on stage. These discussions helped Aimee think critically about how the biblical worldview applies to acting and have given her good guidelines and boundaries as she auditions for acting jobs in Hollywood. God has created every person to be different. Psalm 139:14 says that every person is “fearfully and wonderfully made.” Some people are gifted at teaching. Others have the ability to manage people. Still others do their best behind computers. When God created Aimee, He gave her a passion for acting. At this point, she is still in the process of figuring out how He wants her to use that passion. It might be in movies in Hollywood; it might be in a small-town theater. Wherever God chooses to use her, though, Aimee’s ultimate goal is to glorify God by using the talent of acting that He put within her. God has clearly placed her in Hollywood, and her desire is to be a light in the darkness wherever God opens doors.