Momma Mia’s Café
…Find a cozy spot, pour yourself a cup of coffee and let’s sit a spell…
I want to share with you something that, I hope, will be meaningful to you and will help each of you to get the most out of whatever you do. The following story comes from an article published by the Springfield, Oregon, Public Schools Newsletter some years ago:
Once upon a time, the animals decided they should do something meaningful to meet the problems of the new world. So they organized a school. They adopted an activity curriculum of running, climbing, swimming and flying. To make it easier to administer the curriculum, all the animals took all the subjects.
The duck was excellent in swimming; in fact, better than his instructor. But he made only passing grades in flying, and was very poor in running. Since he was slow in running, he had to drop swimming and stay after school to practice running. This caused his webbed feet to be badly worn, so that he became only average in swimming. But average was quite acceptable, so nobody worried about that - except the duck. The rabbit started at the top of his class in running, but developed a nervous twitch in his leg muscles because of so much make-up work in swimming. The squirrel was excellent in climbing, but he encountered constant frustration in flying class because his teacher made him start from ground up instead of from the treetop down. He developed "Charlie horses" from overexertion, and so only go a C in climbing and a D in running. The eagle was a problem child and was severely disciplined for being a non-conformist. In climbing classes he beat all the others to the top of the tree, but insisted on using his own way to get there...
The obvious moral of the story is a simple one - each creature has its own set of capabilities in which it will naturally excel - unless it is expected or forced to fill a mold that doesn't fit. When that happens, frustration, discouragement, and even guilt bring overall mediocrity or complete defeat. A duck is a duck - and only a duck. It is built to swim, not to run or fly and certainly not to climb. A squirrel is a squirrel - and only that. To move it out of its forte, climbing, and then expect it to swim or fly will drive a squirrel nuts! (no pun intended) Eagles are beautiful creatures in the air but not in a foot race. The rabbit will win every time unless, of course, the eagle gets hungry.
There is a similar illustration found in the Bible. "For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the organs in the body, each one of them, as he chose....24.b. But God has so composed the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior part, that there may be no discord in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it (1 Corinthians 12: 12-18, 24-27).
Just as illustrated in the story of the animals, the Bible clearly states that each one of you were made for a specific reason and purpose. I think sometimes, especially as women, we tend to compare ourselves to each other and try to be a "mini mold" of what someone else is; however, God never called us to do that. 2 Corinthians 10:12 states, "Oh, don't worry, I wouldn't dare say that I am as wonderful as these other men who tell you how good they are! Their trouble is that they are only comparing themselves with each other, and measuring themselves against their own little ideas. What stupidity!" (Living Translation) God has not made us all the same, and He never intended us to be. He made you just the way you are for a reason, and has given you a certain mixture of strengths and weaknesses that make you unique. You must realize that God makes no mistakes and no "mixture" is insignificant! When you operate in the capabilities that God has given you, you will have an incredible feeling of satisfaction; you will ultimately excel, and the whole Body will benefit, whether it be in on your job, in your homes, or in the Church Body as a whole. But when you compare, compete or ridicule yourself for not being what someone else is, frustration, hypocrisy, and ultimately mediocrity and defeat is inevitable.
If God made you a duck saint- you're a duck, friend! Swim like you were made, and don't get bent out of shape because you wobble when you run or flap instead of fly. Furthermore, it you're an eagle saint, stop expecting squirrel saints to soar, or rabbit saints to build the same kind of nests that you do. It doesn't matter if you are the youngest or oldest in your given group, if you are a mom, a dad, a grandmom or a granddad, a teacher, a preacher, a CEO or just a "friend of a friend". God has a specific purpose for you here - you need to find out what it is, fill that spot well, and never compare or compete with those around you!
God shows us in Psalms 139:13-17 that even before we were born, He formed us to be who we are. "For You have formed my inward parts; You have covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!" Jeremiah 1:5 says, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; and I ordained you a prophet to the nations.''
Be the person that God called YOU to be and encourage others to be the same! Appreciate those around you, even though they may be different in personality or style. Learn from their differences and accept one another as the brother or sister that God has placed in your life to challenge, strengthen and encourage you to be the person He has made you to be! Find that special thing that God wants you to do and do it; it may be running a business, preaching to thousands, being a good supervisor, teaching a class, working well with your co-workers, being your kids mom, or just helping someone in need. If you will seek His face, He will help you and show you.
And always remember: rabbits don't fly; eagles don't swim; ducks look funny trying to climb, and squirrels definitely don't have feathers! Enjoy being you, because there's plenty of room in God's "forest".
Excerpts from "Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life", Chuck Swindoll |
The News 
