Hold My Earrings
I’m calling on all my Type-A personalities out there. Where are my sisters at? The get-er-done kind of girls. Can we chat about us for a bit?
(And for the other personalities leaning in, come on along. There may be something here for you, too.)
Meek and mild are not adjectives that describe me; never have—and probably never will. Sugar and spice and everything nice is one of those phrases that has eluded me over the course of my life. Anyone else? Anyone?
I’m more of a, “hold my earrings” kind of girl. A statement that references the…I’ll jump in the mix at any given moment—fists a flying, elbows a shoving, challenges accepted—but hold my earrings first, I don’t want them to get damaged, kind of girl. If scrapping abilities are a virtue, then I’m at the top of the list.
Why am I chatting about this?
It seems over the past few weeks, I have had more than one friend make reference to their similar attributes (wink). It’s like it’s been a recurring topic thrown my way, unbeknownst to the others. And we’ve all chatted in one form or another, how terrible we feel about it. How we are so far off base from God’s plan, from being the gentle spirit that He wants us to be:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Gal 5:22-23
Do you see what I am talking about?
The other fruits—no problem: Being joyful, check. Being kind, check. Being gracious, check. Being loving, check. But gentle AND self control—yikes, those are doozies. At least for me. At least for some of the ladies I’ve recently chatted with. And that is where the dilemma lies. When there is a verse in the Bible that directly contradicts your very nature, it is reallllly hard to not see yourself as less-than. It’s a lifelong struggle as a direct reflection of something I am not, and something I can’t seem to live up to.
Peter the apostle got this. He was the muscle in the group of 12. He was the big burly fisherman who stepped forward to protect his friends and his Christ. He cussed, he fought, he even cut the ear off a foe to stand up for Jesus, and he found himself often at the backend of a rebuke; more than a few times. If there was ever someone we could look at that fit the bill of anything anti-gentle, it was Peter; Jesus’ closest confidant. Hmm?
Oh, fellow Type-whatevers, it took me a long time to realize, God gave us our personalities and God wants to use our personalities! I’m not sure why, I’m not sure to what extent, I’m not sure what He was thinking, but each and every one of us was made for the purposes of serving Him—personalities and all!
When we step out of the way of everything we tell ourselves we can’t live up to, God steps in and says I can still use you.
I can use that type A. I can use any type.
I can use that foot-in-mouth-disease. I can use the quiet.
I can use that eager beaver. I can use the mild mannered.
Just watch. Just be ready. Just be willing.
Only one apostle fearlessly ran back to the tomb after the women said it was empty.
The same one that always had something to say, and always said it wrong. The same one that promised loyalty, then denied. The same one that weeped over all he did wrong.
...The same one that Jesus called a rock, upon which His church would be built!!
You are so desperately needed in the Kingdom building. Every inch of you, inside and out. Every single blemish, shortcoming, not-so-pretty attributes--God has such big plans for it all! Put aside the beliefs that you're less than, because you are more than! You see flaws, God sees strengths. Strengths He made and strengths He wants to use.