Enjoy this monthly post by Reverend Patrick Riecke, director, Chaplaincy and Volunteer Services.
Recent research has confirmed that daily affirmations help lower stress and maintain focus.[1] I don’t know about you, but anything that’s free and helps me lower my stress and maintain focus is worth millions. I have used affirmations for years. When I don’t, I feel the effect. My stress level increases and my “crazy” starts to show. You can revisit my post from last month for more, but this month, I offer you a new affirmation.
I often remind myself of the truth that:
I am not good at everything, I am good at some things
As a kid, I took piano lessons for seven years from a Catholic nun. Sister Margaret felt like I showed real promise. She felt I might really do something with my skills as a pianist.
You already know that I was in marching band in high school—where I played trombone and baritone. Also, I learned how to play the guitar when I was a ministry intern after I graduated from college. At this point, if you didn’t know me, you would think that I must be a decent musician.
And that—is where you would be wrong.
Even my nine-year-old knows Daddy should not sing. And he really has no business playing baritone, piano or guitar any more, either. Many years of musical activities taught me that music’s not really my thing. But that’s ok.
I am not good at everything, I am good at some things.
“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but they all come from the same Spirit. There are different ways to serve the same Lord, and we can each do different things. Yet the same God works in all of us and helps us in everything we do. The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others.” I Corinthians 12:47-7 (CEV)
Finding Your Gift
Discovering your gifts is so important. Chances are good that you already have discovered them—you just need to accept it. And celebrate them!
The passage above is communicating one central truth. There are many gifts, but they all come from God.
Can you sew? Sweet! I have pants with a hole in the knee. Give me a call!
Can you hug? Chances are there are a bunch of hurting teens that need your gift.
Can you make phone calls? Find a mission you believe in. Join up, and get on the phone.
Can you organize numbers or items? Please stop by my basement. Or the local charity of your choice.
Can you fix stuff? Because I have a shower door that is giving me fits.
See? You have a gift. And it matters to someone. Don’t forget it!
At Parkview, I not only lead a team of chaplains. The hospital volunteer program also runs out of our office. We have several hundred volunteers. One volunteer named Ruth knits hats. Those knitted hats then go into our boutique for cancer patients. They are beautiful hats and selected often from the boutique.
What if Ruth thought to herself, “I’m not a doctor. I’m not a nurse. I have nothing to offer”?
Ruth is not good at all things. She can’t administer medicine or make a prognosis. But she can knit. It’s a gift God has given her (that many people do not have), and she changes lives with her gift.
What about me, you ask? (After all, I have only told you what my gift isn’t) No, I am not much of a musician.
But I can lead.
And I can talk.
And I can write.
I am not good at everything. I am good at some things.
Questions for Reflection:
Do you need to admit there’s something you aren’t any good at?
Say it after me, “I’m not good at everything, I am good at some things.”
How do you feel when you do something well?
How can you use that gift, like the young man in the restaurant, to help others?
Revisit Affirmation No. 1 here.
