Last night after I got the kids to bed I had great plans of going for a much needed run. While outside talking to my neighbor Michelle I happened to mention my plans. Unexpectedly Michelle then said, "oh, I need to start working out. I should go with you. Do you think I could keep up?? Do you think I should try?" Well, I already knew the answer to the first question, and selfishly my answer to the second one would be the same.
I had to make a decision....will I do what I want to do, or make the choice to sacrifice my run to give time to someone else?
I had to make a decision....will I do what I want to do, or make the choice to sacrifice my run to give time to someone else?
I told Michelle I would pick her up at 7:30.
Michelle made it clear that she wanted me to push her and make her finish a mile. She was confident she could do it and insisted that I not let her quit. We started out walking about a mile and a half and when we got to the point where I knew the route of exactly one mile, I asked her if she was ready to start running. I pushed her hard and she eventually made it. She finished a whole mile and she was so proud of it. It wasn't easy for her by any means. I was worried at some moments if it was safe for me to keep pushing her, but I did anyway. Every time those legs stopped running and tried to walk, I would yell at her and tell her to keep going she could make it.
Something I realized last night after I got home was how this story can teach us a lesson about humility. You see, even though Michelle struggled terribly to finish this 1 mile run, I on the other hand barely became winded. I have been running for so long that to me 1 mile sounds so small. But to Michelle, it was a huge challenge! All of us have things in life that come easier for us than they may for someone else. To understand another persons struggles, we have to humble ourselves enough to understand where they are and what their gifts are. We all have different gifts given from God for a purpose. Your gift is not going to be the same as someone else's.
I am reading a really good book right now by Max Lucado called Cure for the Common Life. In it he describes each of us like a suit case. In each suit case are all the gifts and abilities that God has "packed" for us. If I were in the airport waiting for my baggage I might see a suitcase that looks exactly like mine. If I fail to look at the tag and make sure it has my name on it, I could take home the wrong one. When I get home and open it I might find the belongings of a business man. What would I do with this man's things?? I could put on his suit, I could even slip on his dress shoes, I could use his aftershave. The problem is, his clothes are going to be too big on me, the shoes are going to flop all over the place, and the aftershave is going to smell ridiculous on me. These things were not intended for me nor will they be useful to me.
God created each of us individually and with great detail. He packed our "suitcases" perfectly with everything He knew we would need to do be used the way He intended for us to. God gave me the ability to run. He made me good at it and I truly enjoy it. Others might despise it and have no desire to do it. He also gave me a gift for cooking, reading, gardening and keeping a tidy house. Those things come easily for me and I enjoy them. I love to decorate and I get excited about a a new outfit or a fresh color of lip gloss. Those are some of the things in my suitcase. We must remember that no one else's suitcase is filled the same. What I like might look silly or unexciting to someone else. If we try to use what God packed in someone else's suitcase because it looks better than what is in ours or it looks good on the other person, we are not going to ever feel comfortable like we should when we wear what God has packed perfectly for us.
Michelle made it clear that she wanted me to push her and make her finish a mile. She was confident she could do it and insisted that I not let her quit. We started out walking about a mile and a half and when we got to the point where I knew the route of exactly one mile, I asked her if she was ready to start running. I pushed her hard and she eventually made it. She finished a whole mile and she was so proud of it. It wasn't easy for her by any means. I was worried at some moments if it was safe for me to keep pushing her, but I did anyway. Every time those legs stopped running and tried to walk, I would yell at her and tell her to keep going she could make it.
Something I realized last night after I got home was how this story can teach us a lesson about humility. You see, even though Michelle struggled terribly to finish this 1 mile run, I on the other hand barely became winded. I have been running for so long that to me 1 mile sounds so small. But to Michelle, it was a huge challenge! All of us have things in life that come easier for us than they may for someone else. To understand another persons struggles, we have to humble ourselves enough to understand where they are and what their gifts are. We all have different gifts given from God for a purpose. Your gift is not going to be the same as someone else's.
I am reading a really good book right now by Max Lucado called Cure for the Common Life. In it he describes each of us like a suit case. In each suit case are all the gifts and abilities that God has "packed" for us. If I were in the airport waiting for my baggage I might see a suitcase that looks exactly like mine. If I fail to look at the tag and make sure it has my name on it, I could take home the wrong one. When I get home and open it I might find the belongings of a business man. What would I do with this man's things?? I could put on his suit, I could even slip on his dress shoes, I could use his aftershave. The problem is, his clothes are going to be too big on me, the shoes are going to flop all over the place, and the aftershave is going to smell ridiculous on me. These things were not intended for me nor will they be useful to me.
God created each of us individually and with great detail. He packed our "suitcases" perfectly with everything He knew we would need to do be used the way He intended for us to. God gave me the ability to run. He made me good at it and I truly enjoy it. Others might despise it and have no desire to do it. He also gave me a gift for cooking, reading, gardening and keeping a tidy house. Those things come easily for me and I enjoy them. I love to decorate and I get excited about a a new outfit or a fresh color of lip gloss. Those are some of the things in my suitcase. We must remember that no one else's suitcase is filled the same. What I like might look silly or unexciting to someone else. If we try to use what God packed in someone else's suitcase because it looks better than what is in ours or it looks good on the other person, we are not going to ever feel comfortable like we should when we wear what God has packed perfectly for us.
What is most important is remembering that all the things in our suitcase were given to us by God for God. He wants what ever we have in there to be used and to be used to glorify Him. I am not a good runner because I worked hard and trained to get there. I am a good runner because God gave it to me in my suitcase. Our gifts and talents are not placed there by accident. We did not even choose them ourselves. God did. We are to take what ever He has placed there and be the best at it that we can be and make God's shirt buttons bust off with pride. That is what it is all about.
2 comments:
D- this is perfect for me today. It's reminding me that in our suitcases are the children God has given us for Him.. to glorify Him for his purposes. We are all so different and I know we have heard it a million times.. But how unfulfilling, how boring the world would be if we were all the same with the same gifts. We learn and glean from one another, we lift one another, we are resources for one another.. all for the glory of God. I loved how you expressed this. And God may have placed a running partner in your path, not your doing, but His. Maybe this is why the marathon is on hold????? Just a thought. I love everything that God put in your suitcase!!!!!! You have sooooo many wonderful gifts that bring Him the glory!
You have a wonderfully packed suitcase too! :-) Everything fitting just PERFECTLY for Kelly Flemming!!
I am so glad to have you for a friend.
I think this is a big piece of that "God confidence" we are always talking about. We are recognizing what He has packed in our suitcase, and feeling good about it. Wearing it the very best we can, and not looking at what other people have in theirs!
I feel stronger and stand taller when I look at what I am good at and what God has given me and nothing else. :-)
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