Y is for...

  is for yardstick.




About a month ago, I spent the day at a workshop at church called Spiritual DNA.  During this program, the participants were led through a variety of sessions and exploratory discussions to better understand what makes us uniquely ourselves.  Based on a variety of assessments I took prior to the workshop, I was able to delve deeper into understanding my personality type, where my spiritual gifts rest, and how I most desire to serve.  Just the other night, I pulled out my folder from Spiritual DNA and was looking back at one of my personality assessments; my results were certainly spot on.  I am very much a peacekeeper who desires to nurture others while avoiding conflict or tension.  While there are a number of traits within my personality type that are beneficial to myself and others around me, it is important to be aware of the weaknesses that we must overcome as well.  For example, understanding that conflict creates much disquietude in my life and that maintaining well-being is very important to me, I find that I can easily slip into a routine of looking to others for their opinions and feelings and then adjusting my actions accordingly in order to avoid making waves.  While this approach can be helpful in many settings, it can also lead to a trap that many are apt to fall into: the yardstick mentality.

Do you too find yourself measuring yourself and your actions based on those around you before responding accordingly?  Perhaps instead you have fallen into the trap of looking first and foremost to the significant individuals in your life for affirmation and confirmation of your worth.  What I call "the yardstick mentality" (measuring something in your life based on the views, reactions, and actions of others) can, I think, be found in the lives of nearly every individual in some form and to varying degrees.  The question lies, then, with how we might approach this mindset and replace it with a healthier lens.

Let me show you where my heart turns in addressing this matter.  As a follower of Christ, it is first and foremost crucial to remember that above all else, my identity is in Him.  I am His daughter, His dearly loved child.  See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!  (1 John 3:1)  When I wrap my mind around that thought, I find that it is truly extraordinary.  My Creator, my Lord, and my God loves me as His child, unconditionally and with no bounds.  When I measure myself and respond through my actions based on His view of me, everything changes.  In fact, we find the faultiness in measuring against human opinions and standards that are unlike God's view of His children.  The Lord does not look at the things people look at.  People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7)  If we continually look to those around us, it's as if we were using the wrong measuring tool!  I wouldn't use a cup measure to find the length of an object.  So then we must stop measuring ourselves and our lives so inaccurately time and again.  And what of those of us who shy from conflict and tension whenever possible?  On one hand, this can be a great strength.  Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." (Matthew 5:9)  However, if I'm measuring situations continually based on others, it can be unhealthy in some cases.  I have not been called to be cowardly or weak.  With Christ as my foundation, I am reminded that I needn't fear the opinions or reactions of others.  If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)  May you and I find a balance between the beautiful qualities that God has given us to love and interact with one another and the ways in which these can cause us to fall.  I break the yardstick of measuring against others and remember who I am.  For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline. (1 Timothy 1:7)  Let us be bold in who we each are and who He has created us to be.     

  
    

X is for...

     is for x-ray.




Some might call it luck, others chance.  Quite frankly it seems a small miracle to me that during the years of my life I have never broken a bone.  I cheered, I tumbled, and to be quite honest, I'm fairly clumsy.  The fact that all of my bones have escaped unscathed leaves me feeling very fortunate.  While I've never had to endure the painful experience of a broken bone, I've had classmates, friends, and students who have arrived on the scene with a cast and story to tell.  You see, while going about their daily lives, something had gone amiss.  Although perhaps on the outside they seemed fine, further medical attention suggested otherwise.  An x-ray revealed the reality on the inside although the outer may have clouded or tried to cover it up.   

My bones may certainly be intact, but this actually is my story after all.  I bet if you are honest with yourself, it's your story too.  Every day we work our hardest to have it all together.  You have a great career.  You just bought a new house.  You have an amazing boyfriend/girlfriend or a loving spouse.  Your brand new baby is healthy and beautiful.  The kids are on the honor roll at school.  You just received a call that you landed your dream job.  You fill your evenings and weekends with social obligations and friends.  You work out relentlessly at the gym to get the fit and toned physique that others envy.  You volunteer and give your time to others because you want to make a difference.  Imagine with me for a moment, then, that we were each subjected to a life x-ray.  When the doctor held it up to the light, would you want an audience to see it?  If you're anything like me, you'd probably be strategically placing yourself in front of the image or switching off the light.  "Never mind, Doc.  Don't worry about it.  Life's great. I'm doing well.  It's all dandy.  Thanks for your time and see you later!"  Although the routines of our lives may have others convinced, we all know the mess to be found inside.  With this honest realization, its seems that people fall into one of two camps: having it all together on the outside is good enough and most important or they'll keep working and striving on their own until they are good enough to make the inner match the outer.

Can I suggest to you a third and, I believe, better choice?  First of all, it's important to recognize that we all are missing the mark.  For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  Romans 3:23.  To be complacent and think that our condition is good enough just isn't true.  We are not living up to the potential we were created to have.  How then do we tackle this problem?  "Let's just try harder.  Let's get to work!" many rally and cry out.  Unfortunately no matter how earnest our efforts, we simply cannot prove our worth and make ourselves right by our own means.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9.  If we realize that the status quo isn't good enough and that we can't fix the problem on our own, we come to the understanding that surrendering to God and letting His sacrifice cover us is the true option.  An yet still, this is so hard for many.  How could we ever approach Jesus with a heart condition like it is?  We know we can cover it up for others, but He can see right through the charade.  Here's the good and beautiful news my friends.  Breathe easy.  He sees you as you are, He loves you as you are, and He bids you to come to Him just as you are.  Hear this, His own words: "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."  Turn the light back on, and pull the x-ray back out for inspection.  Calling all patients who, when honest with themselves, understand that they can't do it on their own.  The Great Physician came for you and He came for me.  Would you allow Him to do a healing work in your life and to make you anew?  It's your choice.  The Doctor is in.