(Photo by Zelda Dominguez)

A Note From the Editor: August, 2018
Make Your Mark

By Sarah Komisky

I fell in love with Elvis Presley when I was in the 4th grade. His style intrigued me, but it was also his early rockabilly music that caught my attention. My grandparents had a cassette of his music collection during his years at Sun Records when he played alongside musicians like Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash. I’d rewind songs like “Mystery Train” and “That’s All Right” and repeat over and over again. This was a common practice for me as a music lover growing up in a family of music lovers. Since music is apart of who we are, various genres were played regularly at our homes and was something I was exposed to early on. Therefore, I was always making new discoveries. However, on this day that I thumbed through my grandparent’s musical treasure trove, I made a new discovery on my own.

Elvis Presley had an incredible legacy. He was a pioneer in the Rock ‘n’ Roll genre bringing R&B and Gospel music to the masses when it was formerly only for African Americans. He broke racial and social barriers of the time with his music and created a look and dance style all his own. John Lennon himself who emulated his hero said of the pop icon, “If there hadn’t been an Elvis, there wouldn’t have been the Beatles.”

In totality, Elvis was unique in both sound and style. A trendsetter and trailblazer of his time, he was dubbed the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” who changed music, fashion, and culture as we know it today. But Elvis was first the child who grew up in a working-class family and lived in a two-room house in Tupelo, Mississippi. Later Elvis moved to Memphis where he lived in public housing and helped his parents in poverty by working at a young age. As the story goes, when Elvis’ family couldn’t afford the bike we wanted, his mother offered a guitar instead. In 1953, a teenage Elvis decided to make a demo of a song as a birthday present for his mom. The Memphis Recording Studio happened to be the home of the Sun label as the rest as they say is history when Sam Phillips told his assistant to write down a note that read: “Good ballad singer. Hold.”

Many think you have to be a celebrity in order to make a difference, but God is in the business of scouting the people like you and me. The Bible even says that the last shall be first and that the “whoever” should call on His name should be saved. That means He uses anyone! And if you take a look at the famous “Hall of Faith” chapter of the Bible in Hebrews 11, the people He used greatly were regular, imperfect, people with real struggles and defects of character but people of great faith. That’s where we can make a difference!

We all have the capacity to make a difference in incredible ways! And, when we do it in Christ, this is where it gets exciting! Regardless of our past mistakes, present struggles, or futures failures, God still wants to partner with us! He sees your potential. He can forgive, redeem, and restore to use our story to make a memorable mark for His name sake. Yes, people like Elvis Presley can definitely make a difference (I certainly was impacted by his music), but God isn’t relegating world changers only by celebrity status. In turn, God isn’t defining your impact by how many followers you have on Instagram or how many likes you got on a post. He also isn’t concerned if your clothes are trending, how much money is in your bank account, or what letters are behind your name. God wants to use you as you are right where you’re at! And I would venture to say that what He wants to you for is even more legendary because it is eternal. The Bible says that even if we give someone a cup of water in the name of Jesus, it is both seen by God and used to make a difference! Now that’s perspective!

This is why we at Marked Ministry wanted to create an issue entitled “Make Your Mark.” It is our prayer that God would use it to free you from shame, ignite your passion for God, inspire you to dream, give new vision, and drive you towards action in order to make your mark for the Kingdom of God.

May you make your mark.

Blessings,

Sarah