My mom use to have a saying that she would express whenever she was fed up with the different personalities of her children. She would say, “I have all kinds”. I have 3 brothers and 2 sisters, so you can imagine the occasional harmonic chaos growing up in our home! In her six children, she really did have “all kinds”. Now, I, on the other hand, only have two, but I still say that “I have all kinds!” Triniti and Tori are about as different as different can be, but at the same time, you can tell they are cut from the same cloth.
Now don’t think that one is an angel and the other is a little devil. That is not the case at all (they both can be little devils sometimes).
BUT….
Take a look at this small collage of Bible Study notes I collected back in March of 2016. The girls were with me because we did not have Youth Bible Study that night. To keep them occupied and engaged, I instructed them to complete the same notes sheet that the adults were completing. At the end of service, I looked at their notes and I literally had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing! This picture captured a perfect example of how children may be cut from the same cloth, but they are completely different fabrics.
Yeah… I have all kinds…
That that night after Bible Study I concluded 2 things:
- I had done enough shopping with the girls for the church banquet that was coming up and I would probably look for a baby sitter the next time I went.
- We need to pray for our children… perhaps some more than others!!
My girls have always been unique. Sure, they have a lot of things in common. They are both beautiful, kind, smart, hard-working and talented. But they are also different in so many ways. One will try to watch every action-thriller movie with me, while the other will not even walk into the room if we are watching Jurassic Park – for the hundredth time! There are little things they do that are so opposite, and it reminds me that their young lives do not belong to me, they belong to God.
I Corinthians 12:4-6 says:
4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. (NIV)
Isn’t that a lot like children? So different, but coming from the same source, and you really do love them all – equally! I think it is impossible for me to love one of my daughters more than the other, partly because they ARE different. I try my best not to show favoritism and if I do, it is only because I like action-thriller movies!
Here, God is telling us that the gifts that He has given us are different, but they are all from Him. Don’t think any less of your gift of singing because it is not like the one who gets almost every solo. At the same time, don’t think that your gift of speaking is more important than your quiet sister in Christ who always shows up to work on the latest mission project in your congregation.
Every gift is different, but the same God is working in each of us.
With my daughters, I can give them both the same instructions and have two completely different results. Is one better than the other? No, not if I know that both results are done to the best of their ability and with the right heart.
God tells us to worship Him. That may look different from your brothers and sisters in Christ. God searches the heart. He knows your gift and He knows your heart. You can’t hide your gift from God because He gave it to you! He loves you and He wants to see you use that gift for His glory!
God loves you just as much as He loves me. I believe once we start to truly understand that, we will appreciate our differences and see how we really are the same in Christ.
We are all cut from the same cloth, but isn’t it wonderful to know that we are completely different fabrics? I love God’s creativity!
POW-wow (Pearls of Wisdom)
- Moms, God has trusted us with precious jewels. They may not all be pearls. You may have a few diamonds in the rough. Pray and ask God to give you a daily dose of patience to handle their hearts with care. Ask Him to guide you in nurturing them and preparing them to live for Him.
- We are all guilty of allowing ourselves to think more or less of our gifts than the gifts of our brothers and sisters in Christ. But God didn’t create us to be the same! Some of our passions may be titled the same, but they are all unique. God wants them ALL so that His will can be glorified in our lives. “Do you, Boo”, because only you can.
- Write about a time when you thought less of your gift than your brother’s or sister’s gift. Then thank God for giving you that good and perfect gift. Use that gift today!
-Traci D. Fuller, Pearls and Pretty Pens
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Pearls and Pretty Pens 