June 21, 2021
Good Morning, Y'all. I trust you had a good Father's Day.
I was reminded of Father's Day 27 years ago. We bought Brooklynn, our two-year-old, a helium balloon as a part of our celebration.
That night her balloon traveled the ceilings of our house and into Sherry's and my bedroom. A ceiling fan and the fateful balloon proceeded to dance and fight above our heads. This chaos woke up my full-term, pregnant wife. The loudly boinking balloon overhead only highlighted what was happening inside my inflated bride. She was having strong contractions and going into labor.
Our second born, Lauren, was born the following day.
Sometimes the stuff on the outside awakens you to reality on the inside.
Three of my top-five Gallup strengths are ideation, activator, and significance. This means God wired me to have a gazillion ideas a day, jump quickly into action mode—and in ways making a visible impact.
I've often wrestled with my wiring and what others expect. External voices have bemoaned, "Slow down… you're wearing us out." "You can't do it all." "When do you ever stop?" And the classic, "You are never satisfied!"
I'm still navigating the growth and maturing process of understanding outside expectations while paying close attention to the excellent God wiring inside.
Sorting through expectations, values, goals, and God-wiring, Peter Scazzero suggests, "Every small step of differentiation we take is actually a giant step toward making our lives a gift to the world."
Jesus knew his internal and eternal purpose was salvation to the world. Outside, the clamoring expectations were for miracles, healing, and military leadership. Can you imagine if Jesus caved to outside expectations and never truly gave his life as a gift to the world?
The Bible says, "...we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
What do others expect from you, and how has God wired you to make a difference? Like an annoying ceiling fan battling a helium balloon, let the tension push you to where God enables your gift to the world.
Blessings!
