Editing our lives..

For several days last week, i attended a personal contribution assessment workshop. At this workshop we assessed our gifts and abilities, tendencies and preferences, and tried to grasp a better understanding of how God has designed each one of us. There's certainly things i learned about myself that i didn't see clearly before, as well a confirmation of several gifts, abilities and traits i believed i had.

It almost seemed like i was 'editing life' at this workshop. As I reviewed the unfinished book of my life with all it's sucesses and failures, much of my calling, vision and experiences seemed to make more sense. In some chapters i clearly recognised where i've been in my element, though other chapters and paragraphs seemed very akward, as if i was writing with my left hand (and some of it is still hard to read).

With a sense of amazement i'm re-discovering how uniquely God has created each one of us. He has with divine measure given everyone special talents and gifts. However, doing things God has not created us for, or performing tasks we have not been designed to do can lead to frustration and discouragement. Perhaps there are tasks and functions we should 'edit' from our lives and leave to others who have more suitable talents. The better we understand our design, the more satisfaction we find in doing what we've been designed to do.

Discovering how God has designed us is a process of endless amazement. I am so intregued by our multilayered design, how we have been created with a specific purpose. What we see on the surface rarely reveals all the workings of our inner-being. And our inner workings can be so integral to how we act and perform.

A car with a wonderful design may not be equipped to drive off-road. That's not to say it cannot do it, it just will slip and slide and be more prone to damage or failure than a 4x4 truck. The car however will shine in performance and efficiency as it drives on the highway. Off road the 4x4 truck is in it's element, while it may not be as stable or efficient on the highway as the car.

The analogy above is too simplistic. We are much more complex and respond to situations and circumstances in the most unusual ways. How often do we tell others in difficulty to "get your act together", while we don't even try to understand their design. How often do we expect others to perform or respond as we do?

The better we understand our own design and the design of people we interact with, the more graceful we can be in our roles in life. Like the visionary boldness of one combined with the compassion of another. We have the ability compliment or cover one another's weaknesses, and can lift up and appreciate one another's strengths.

And perhaps this is a part of what grace is all about...