Who Am I, Really? opened my eyes to a ridiculous world of exploring strengths, weaknesses, purposes, life callings, and realizing that even when I have no idea what's going on, everything that I do needs to be worshiping our Father. I'm only 22 years old but for as long as I can remember, I have been asking the who am I and why am I here questions more than once a day. Sure, there are moments of clarity. When I'm rocking a baby to sleep, when I'm providing a shoulder for a friend to cry on, when I'm laughing until there are tears streaming down my face, I know who I am and why I'm here. But those moments become memories while the darkness closes in as I'm drifting off to sleep.
Strengths come in so many forms. What may be one person's strengths is another's weaknesses. That's how the body of Christ works. If we all had the same strengths, we couldn't go to someone to get help. Holley says, "a strength is a personal characteristic that can be used on behalf of God in service to others." Wow. Think about what your strengths are. She lists a whole bunch. Can you find some in this list that suits you?
adventurous. athletic. brave. calm. capable. caring. cheerful. considerate. courageous. creative. dedicated. determined. devoted. easygoing. efficient. encouraging. energetic. fair. flexible. forgiving. friendly. frugal. funny. gentile. gracious. hardworking. helpful. honest. hospitable. imaginative. intelligent. kind. loving. loyal. mature. organized. positive. protective. reflective. reliable. resilient. resourceful. responsible. sensitive. servant-hearted. spontaneous. supportive. talented. thoughtful. trustworthy. warm. wise.
Not sure of any of these are strengths? Put them through the STRENGTH test:
Service-is this helping me serve God and others?
Time-has it been present throughout much of my life?
Energy-do others see this?
Natural-does this come naturally to me? Do I know God has intentionally developed this in me?
Glory-does God ultimately get the glory from it?
Trials-even in hard times, does it usually come through somehow?
Heart-does this really feel like a core part of who I am?
Some strengths that I believe I have from the list: calm. caring. considerate. creative. (shut up, they aren't all c words) determined. encouraging. forgiving. friendly. loving. loyal. protective. responsible. warm.
What strengths do you believe God has blessed you with? He has given these to us because we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" according to a Psalm. Of course, the opposite of strength is weakness but God has us covered there too! "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me."Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! We can rest in the fact that God provides us with weaknesses, too!
Since we have strengths that God gave us, that means God gave us skills too. Yes, Holley mentioned Napoleon Dynamite's skills scene. Yes, I laughed. Hard.
Anyway, like the strengths, I'll list off what she put in the book as skills. I wish I had some of these:
acting. adapting. administering. advising. analyzing. appreciating. assembling. believing. building. challenging. cleaning. collaborating. cooking. communicating. connecting. constructing. coordinating. counseling. creating. decorating. empathizing. encouraging. evaluating. expressing. growing. guiding. helping. imagining. influencing. leading. listening. maintaining. managing. motivating. negotiating. nurturing. organizing. preserving. persuading. planning. prioritizing. problem-solving. protecting. relating. responding. risk taking. serving. sharing. speaking. supporting. teaching. training. writing.
Oh, my skills. I think some of mine are analyzing, believing, challenging, communicating, encouraging, helping, leading, listening, planning, protecting, supporting, and writing. Look at how my skills reflect my strengths. Clearly, God has a plan for me! And for you! Out of those lists, what can you pull for you?
Now that you know what your strengths and skills are, Holley encouraged me to look at who I was called to help. Now, this is the part that gets me. As Mark so "lovingly" put it, to a complete stranger, I could care less about them but to someone who I know and love, I would do anything for. This is true...but...I get to know people very easily. Once I get to know them, I care for them. Once I care for them, I don't stop. So this whole "I feel especially drawn to...; God has given me a tender spot in my heart for..." thing didn't work out like I wanted. Yes, children were at the top of the list. It didn't stop at children though. It went on to young adults. And college students. And women. And families. This means I like to help everyone. I literally can't stop.
People tell me all the time I can't change the world. I can't change people. I can't do this, I can't do that. Friends, I'm here to tell you that if it's God's purpose and plan for my life, I can't stop it, even if I don't like the idea. (And trust me, there have been plenty of things that have happened that I haven't liked...) Stop listening to the can'ts and don'ts. God tells us that we are much more than that.
You're not likeable enough turns into you are much more than likeable...you are deeply loved!
You're not pretty enough turns into you are much more than pretty...you are wonderfully made!
"We are chosen, cherished, created to have all we need to fulfill God's plans for our lives. He has made us just as he wants us to be."
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