Blog 12- Week 12

This week in my morning devotionals I have read several little opening thoughts that have left me with things to think about.

The first one was entitled “True Value”. In it the author talked about the play The Admirable Crichton. In this play there were several very rich people who were stranded on a desert island. Since they had never had to work at the everyday things of life such as started a fire or cooking they had no idea what to do to take care of themselves on the island. On the other hand the butler, who prior to this had had no value, suddenly became their ticket to survival. In other words, we never know when the tables will turn. While there are many times when I feel I have very little value, like I make only small contributions to my world. But I never know when the skills I have will be the very skills someone else is in need of.

Another was called “True Identity”. This one talked about we need to embrace the identity we were given at birth. The author shares the story of a man who went on a hike, found and eagles nest and took an egg back home with him. He put the egg in a hen's nest. After the egg hatched it acted like a chicken, sine that is what the eagle knew, until the day that an eagle flew overhead letting forth a mighty eagle screech. At the sound the eaglet returned the called and flew off toward the eagle. How often do I deny the woman God created me to be. Am I spending my time scrabbling through the dirt scratching for corn like a chicken when He wants me flying through the air with my wings spread wide embracing the air currents?

The last one that truly stood out to me was titled “Personal Ideals”. In this one the author asks the reader to question what qualities they think define good character. This is not for the purpose of saying those are not good qualities, but rather to discover if there is a discrepancy between what they say they believe and the way they act each day. The story is told of a teacher who challenged her students to identify what they would like their tombstones to say. When faced with the challenge of identifying it many had to say that there was a difference between what they said they wanted others to act like and the way they acted themselves.

So the self-reflecting question I have for myself at the end of this week is what do I think makes a person of good character? Is the thing that I have identified a thing of value? Why or why not? AM I so busy trying to be what I think is good, but is not me that I forget to be the woman God created me to be? What skills did God bless me with? How am I using them to bless others?