Celebrate

This has been one of those mornings I did not receive the holy tap on the shoulder with a specific message or direction from God. Rather than ‘punting’ and just doing a devotional on my own, I thought I’d share something that’s been on my mind. Don’t worry, if God doesn’t want me sending this out, He won’t let me.

Many, many years ago when I was a young wife and mother I was spending the weekend at my Daddy’s home on the bay. Both step-sisters were visiting, too. The youngest was newly married and the older was home on leave from the Air Force. No one ever confused us with ‘three peas in a pod’.  

The oldest had been sitting in the same spot on the couch most of the day. She had accumulated quite a stash from her morning coffee cup to the glasses for the various things she drank over the course of the day. The youngest asked why she didn’t take her dishes to the kitchen. Her reply was that she was being wise and, unlike her mother who ran back and forth all day, she was conserving her energy by making one trip at the end of the day. The youngest laughed at her sister and replied, “That’s why she’s thin and you’re not.”

That scene and comment stuck with me for…36 years or so. Why do some things imprint on us more than others? That’s probably another blog for another day but, for me and this comment, it was the use of energy and effort that stuck out. I cannot say the step-mom and I were close. We were not. But I did learn and admire some things about her. Her use of energy was one of them. I learned that you get more practical daily exercise when you put the things you use the most, like cup towels, in a bottom drawer. There’s bending from the waist on a regular basis. She had a small waist. The bottom-line is I became aware of how to utilize your energy to be customized to your best production. For me, it’s more about mental energy these days. But the lesson learned 36 years ago started the ball rolling on my awareness.

I’ve written before that my best brain time is in the mornings and even when I try very hard, I cannot think, therefore write, in the afternoons like I can the mornings. Not even my treasured cup of afternoon tea can revive me sufficiently to create much in the PM. Knowing and utilizing my best energy time makes sense to me. Some people see that as poor time management. The hard part of that realization was in coming to terms with other’s opinions of my ways. Makes me cringe just to write those words and remember how I used to let that influence me. I’ve been delivered from that…praise god!

We are all ‘hard-wired’ differently. We can be influenced by genetics and environment, certainly, but the blueprint for how we were built and created by God is unique. While we may have similar attributes and habits we inherited from family, we are still unique and precious. The differences should be cause for celebration, not traits we try to stifle. Imagine how different the earth world would look if we only had one kind of tree, one type flower…not nearly as exciting, is it?

Me, I need X amount of hours alone each day. I need peace and quiet. I need my surroundings to be aesthetically colorful to my eye. I need a garden to get my hands in the earth. I need books to read and stories to write. I need children, my husband and my animals to love. I’d rather have three close friends cry with me than stadiums full of acquaintances applaud me.  I’ve learned to appreciate the way God made me and not compare myself to anyone else. I’m not cool and I’m cool with that. I am perfectly fine in my imperfection and I’m okay with all that, too. God doesn’t make junk.

 
I am what and who I am. You are what and who you are. We are different by design. Today, I celebrate you just as God made you.