Owning Your Strengths

I was hanging out with a friend of mine who has known me since I was a young, awkward teenager.  Even back then, he was a good friend who always built encouragement and positivity into people.  On this particular night as we were hanging out talking, he stopped, paused, and told me how beautiful I was.  I looked at him, puzzled, because I didn’t see myself that way.  He smiled, a little sadly, and added, “And you don’t realize that about yourself which is a shame, because beauty is a gift.”  That remark struck me because something I do know is that every gift I have, every strength, every talent has been given to me by God to be used for His good purposes. 

We all have those moments where someone speaks life into us, whether by their intent or by God’s.  And that night I came to realize in a deeper way I don’t always see myself the way others do.  Oh, the bad things – sure!  Those qualities I see quite clearly, thank you very much, and could probably add several other negative things to any list you could label me with.  I’m very well aware of who I am not.  But being aware of who I am, of the beauty and creativity and majesty placed within me to honor my Creator—that can be a real challenge for me.

As I’ve wrestled with this over the last few years, I’ve learned a few things.  The first is that not owning your strengths is denying God.  Period.  It’s not humility to pretend you don’t have any; and it’s not humility to act like God could use anyone to do what He’s doing through you.  Why?  Because God didn’t choose anyone; He chose you.  No one can shine in quite the way He designed you to shine, or be used for quite the specific purpose God has chosen you for.  Pretending otherwise is denying His creativity and design in making you. 

I’ve also learned that I’m not as effective in allowing God to work through me in the areas I don’t acknowledge, express gratitude for, and ask God to intentionally use.  Strengths are sometimes tricky because they come easily for us, so we tend to minimize them.  Or, tragically, we’ve had people in our lives who have resented or not understood our strengths and have done ugly, hurtful destructive things to try and beat the glory right out of us.  Some people have even mistaken Godly confidence for unhealthy pride, like somehow acknowledging what God has placed within them is about puffing themselves up instead of expressing gratitude for how God has molded them.  But God is still God.  When you begin to look for and either acknowledge or re-acknowledge your talents, He can take a neglected, unused, broken down strength and resurrect it, using it to bring joy not only to you, but to the world around you.  And that, frankly, leads to the most important lesson …      

No one can have quite the same impact on the lives of the people God has placed around you – which is why He placed them around you to begin with.  The people in your life need you to shine, need you to not only own your strengths, but to use and harness them for God’s good and noble purposes.  It is by owning our strengths we are able to positively impact others.  Quantity is never as important as quality.  The positive impact you can make on your toddler is important and crucial.  The impact you can make in the board room, or the classroom, or the grocery store, or your neighborhood, or with your elderly next-door neighbor is yours alone to make. 

I won’t lie to you.  When I wake up every morning and look in the mirror, I am still quick to look for my flaws, for the latest wrinkle, roll or the blemish I see in the mirror.  But now I also look for the beauty God has placed within me, the things I do like about myself.  More importantly, I fight to acknowledge the gifts God has placed inside of me, and to believe in those strengths.  I ask God to harness and use them for His good purposes.  And let me tell you, it has been thrilling and humbling and amazing to watch Him do so! 

Remember, each piece of this magnificent tapestry called “Redeemed Lives” that God is weaving together needs every color, every unique stitch and every portion to be used to create the glorious whole.  At the end of the day we are all just threads, but each thread matters.  You matter.  Embrace who God has called you to be, and then get ready.  God can do some powerful things through those who choose to acknowledge all that God has placed in their hands.   

For further thought:  There are so many great scriptures about acknowledging your strengths before God, but here are a few of my favorites:

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful (including you!), I know that full well.”   --Psalm 139:13-14

“It is God who arms me with strength … He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights.  He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.  You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me.”—Psalm 18:32-35

“I work and struggle, using Christ’s great strength that works so powerfully in me.” –Colossians 1:29

Do you struggle with acknowledging your strengths?  This week, ask some other people what strengths they see in you and how they see them.  Then offer those strengths up to God, asking Him to build upon them so they can be used for His glory. 

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Finding Your True Pace

True story.  At the beginning of this year, I felt like God was nudging me to tell me 2017 would be the year I would find my true pace.  Huh, I thought.  This past year was pretty hectic.  I bet my true pace will be much slower, much more relaxed. 

I took time to pray about being open to my true pace, and I spent some time envisioning what it might be like.  In my mind, I pictured myself in a beautiful backyard setting tending to lush, green gardens.  I pictured going into my office after a morning of leisurely working to go write.  The words, naturally, flowed.  I made some business calls, did an occasional speaking engagement, and had time for all my hobbies.  My house was clean.  I thought, Wow!  I love that pace!  I wonder if that’s what it will be like … then I conveniently forgot all about it.

Fast forward to mid-August.  My yard virtually yells at me whenever I walk by it, saying “Please spruce me up, Lady!”  My major remodel that I started Memorial Day weekend, certain it could be done in two weeks, (it’s alright – you can laugh at me) still isn’t finished.  I’ve had to be incredibly selective about my activities, my time, my focus and my priorities.  It’s taken concentrated effort to make sure my family has stayed on the top of that list.  If I thought I was busy before, I feel like God took that pace and put it on steroids!  I have, in a word, often felt overwhelmed.

As I sat there praying yet again about where to shift my focus and what to put my hand to, I was reminded of that nudge at the beginning of the year.  Wow, God, I thought, You sure think I can handle a whole lot more than I think I can.  When’s the vacation?  When’s the gardening supposed to happen?  How am I supposed to grow my business and my ministry and finish my house and stay intentional with my kids and my team?  My poor editor is wondering where I am!

God gently reminded me that none of those things are mine.  Not the yard, not the house, not the work, not the ministry, not the book – not even my kids.  They are all His and it’s His grace that covers them.  He directed my attention to the incredible lessons I’ve learned this year, like how to insist on times of rest regardless of the size of the storm.  I’ve learned to lean into God even more deeply because I’ve had no choice.  I’ve learned to let go of what I can’t get to (not easy for a perfectionist) and to be at peace with what I can do.  I’ve learned that good is enough.  I’ve done far more than I would’ve thought possible and witnessed incredible blessings in the midst of it even as I’ve had to let go of some things I dearly love to do.  And I realized in that moment it has all been worth it – the struggle, the sweat and the tears, the challenges and the late nights, and especially the whole new level of control I’ve learned to surrender.  It’s all been worthwhile.

Life is full of seasons.  Some are slower and reflective, while others are all about movement.  Sometimes God calls us to rest, and sometimes He calls us to action.  Through it all, I keep going back to the story of the godly woman in Proverbs 31.  She is a very busy person, yet she is clearly at peace.  The Bible says, “She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks,” and “She is clothed with strength and dignity.  She can laugh at the days to come.”  I’ve come to realize it’s not so much about pace as it is about intentionally leaning into God through it all.  I used to pray for God to clear off some of my plate.  Now, I pray God makes me strong for my tasks, whether big or small, and to stay at peace, wrapped in His presence and goodness.  And that is my prayer for you.

For Further Thought:  Ecclesiastes tells us, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven,” (3:1f).  What season do you find yourself in?  How can you allow God to use this season to teach you how to lean into Him more?  This week, consider asking God to show you the pace He wants you to be at versus the pace you think you should be doing.  He may slow you down; He may speed you up.  The salient thing is to trust in His leading as you go.   

Michelangelo

This is the last installment of reprints before we dive into new content next week.  I chose this last one because it happens to be one of my personal favorites.  I feel like it captures the heart of The Dented Fender experience, of believing that you are so much more than your negative experiences because you worship a powerful, mighty and transformative God who will use each one for good purpose.  I feel it captures the hope we all have out there waiting for us if we choose to reach for it.  You'll have to let me know if you agree.  Happy reading!

I had the privilege of visiting the Accademia Gallery in Florence, Italy that houses the amazing sculpture of David, carved by the great Michelangelo himself.  As you enter the gallery, you’re ushered into this long, narrow hall.  Now at the end of the hallway stands the David in all its miraculous glory, but along the path leading up to him you see partially carved blocks of stone.  Fascinatingly enough, these were all of Michelangelo’s mistakes!  Some had very little carving; some were almost completely formed, like a body that had somehow been trapped in stone.  While several of these pieces were practice stones, some were works of art in progress destroyed by one wrong cut.

Sometimes I can feel like that, like that last big cut in my life has ruined and destroyed me in ways from which I will never fully recover.  The pain is too great; the wound is too deep.  I feel trapped, unable to be released from the stony prison of my mind and heart.  I may run around and try to mask it with a lot of activity, or shove the emotions down so deep they rarely gurgle to the surface, but inside I know I’m cut, broken.  I feel alone.

It’s in those moments I have to remind myself God is my sculpture, not Michelangelo.  God doesn’t make mistakes.  He doesn’t use me (or any of us!) for practice marble.  He is the Master sculpture, the great I Am!  When the thief comes in to deface and destroy me, God knows how to work around that bad cut and still release the masterpiece within me.  Even when I’ve been the one knocking that hammer to all the wrong places, wounding and scarring and destroying myself until all I see left is a pile of rubble, God is still God.  He still knows how to pick up each tiny piece and recreate it into something even better, something miraculous.  

The prophet Isaiah put it this way: “[God] has sent me to repair broken hearts, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners … to give them a beautiful crown instead of ashes, to anoint them with gladness instead of sorrow, to wrap them in victory, joy and praise instead of depression and sadness. People will call them magnificent …” Is. 61:1b-3 (Voice, NIV)

I love that!  And I love knowing that even when no one else gets what I’m going through, God does.  He absolutely, positively gets it in all of its ugly, messy, painful glory.  He understands it even more deeply and clearly than I do.  He knows without one bit of hesitation how to heal and empower me to move forward.  He not only sees me right now at this very moment more clearly than I do, but He also sees the amazing person He intends for me to become.  

So I’ve learned to lean on His vision for me during those times of deep refining until I begin to believe again in what He has in store for me.  I’ve watched Him mold me into something greater, wiser, stronger, and yes – more joy-filled.  He helps me step into my truth: I am sacred, special, loved.  He reminds me that not only can I make a difference, I already have.

How about you?

For further thought: “Now all of us reflect the glory of the Lord as if we are mirrors; and so we are being transformed, metamorphosed, into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another, just as the Spirit of the Lord accomplishes it.”  (2 Cor. 3:18, Voice, AMP)  How might God be refining you?  What are some truths you can cling to during the process?  Pray to see and take God's vision for you, and then make it your own.  

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