hey blog!
So if you know me, you know that I’m a little bit of a control freak. I frequently find myself with the mindset “if you want it done right, do it yourself”. I really like things done a certain way. I remember as a kid making brownies with my friends correcting them on how to stir correctly, or at soccer practice showing everyone the “right way” to load your backpack. Throughout my life, I’ve always had the ability to do things exactly the way I like them…until the race. That mindset it virtually impossible when you live with 30 people doing all sorts of tasks and it is especially hard to maintain when you enter a totally different culture that doesn’t function at all like the States. I remember even the first week of the race, In Gainesville, Ga when my team and I were doing some team building activities and I was basically forced to listen to every single persons idea. Now, if you asked me before the race, I would have said that I listen to others ideas but in actuality, I was only open to listen in order to have them just say it so I can move forward with my own idea. Or I remember living in Costa Rica and having to learn to “chill out” as Rasta, our base host would say. Let’s just say Latin American culture really REALLY values rest and taking their time and it’s not always the most efficient. It’s not a bad thing, just not a way of working that I was used to. But, even though it’s annoyed me at times, I have learned to value the body of Christ, each persons own giftings, and realize that my way isn’t always best. I’ve watched as my teammate Annie gracefully organizes a group of 30 people to do a task when hearding cats would be easier. Or Madeline bring a sense of calm and reason when things start to get a little out of control. Or Miguel teach me the right way to use a shovel that works so much better than the way I was hell bent on doing it. Or my friend Rachel elegantly and wisely present the Gospel. 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 says, “Just as the body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we are all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body — whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free— and we were all given one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but many. (NIV)” I am so incapable of being the whole body. I can’t be the foot and the hand and the eyes and the stomach and the brain. I’m not made to be! And praise the Lord for that! I have watched as the Lord has refined me and loosened my grip on things and allowed me to see how beautifully and intentionally He has created other people!! Let me tell you, the Lord was not sloppy when He made you, nor was He thoughtless in giving you the gifts that He has. He has created you with purpose. He has created you to function in unity with others. So I encourage you to loosen your grip on that one thing that you swear no one else can do right. Believe me, I know it’s hard. But I think you just might be surprised when you give space for people to walk out what they have been gifted with. Maybe on the other hand, you feel like you can’t do anything. That is a lie!! You are a special and unique part of the body. Make yourself uncomfortable, seek feedback to see what you are excelling in and where you can grow. Let’s be a church body that walks in unity!
Mary
