I remember this incident like it was yesterday. I had a day off work and decided to spend lunch hour with my son and thats how I ended squashed between 8 year olds at the school cafeteria. It started when the little boy next to me lifted a sandwich out of his lunch box. Thats huge! My son exclaimed as he poked at the lukewarm carrots on his cafeteria tray and gazed longingly at his classmates lunch. The sandwich was big-oversized slabs of cheese and slices of ham nestled between two thick slices of bread. I wondered how much cash it would take to talk his classmate into trading his mealtime masterpiece for my soggy sloppy one. Can you even get that in your mouth? I teased as my lunch companion freed his sandwich from plastic wrap and lifted the culinary sensation to his mouth. Im used to big bread, he replied. Its my moms specialty. My son raised an eyebrow and studied the specimen in his classmates hands. You mean your mom makes the bread you eat? The little fellow nodded happily. My son looked at me with wide-eyed wonder, then shrugged his shoulders and replied, Oh, my moms specialty is burnt bread. I nodded in agreement. If the crusts not charred, the breads not ours, I said with a laugh, feeling embarrassed. The sandwich muncher beside me didnt even blink at my corny rhyme, but my baby applauded me with a big smile. Soon a bell announced the lunch hours end, and they hurriedly left for their next assignment. As I thought about it this morning I honesty think I felt like a second-rate mom who couldnt bake to save her life (that has since changed 15 years on, thank you very much :-) ) I learned the hard way that I missed all sorts of sacred and significant moments when I live with the frantic insistence that I can do it all. When Im striving to be good at all things. A good mom isnt good at everything. Shes just really good at one thing, good mom is good at being who God created her to be-and a good dad too. And a good son too. And a good daughter too. And a good friend too... The truth for bread-burning mamas and for gifted gourmet producers is this: we werent created to do it all. We were created to play one small role in a gigantic Kingdom tale. And if we spend our lives trying to mimic everyone elses script, we might miss the lines that are uniquely ours. On any given day, I can tell you a few things I do well. But, perhaps more importantly, I can tell you what I dont do. I learned a few years ago the importance of creating a list of what I dont do. If youre tired of feeling tired, make that list. If youre worn out from the comparison game, make that list. If you cant celebrate your talents and laugh at your limitations, make that list-refuse to apologize for being you. So, friend, if youve been created to bake homemade bread, by all means, bake away. If youve been fashioned to encourage others, speak life. If youve been gifted to sing, fill the earth with music, please. But whatever you do, dont try to do it all, or you just might miss the one thing that the world desperately needs you to do. Dear Lord, I am tired of trying to do it all. Help me identify my gifts and accept my limitations so I can play my part in Your mighty Kingdom tale. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Posted on: Sat, 07 Jun 2014 03:55:33 +0000
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