“Teal”

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.  For just as the heavens are higher than the earth so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.  Isaiah 55:8-9  NLT

Growing up I always felt like a ‘misfit.’  Everyone was seemingly taller and thinner than me ~~ everyone seemed to have ‘normal’ family ties ~~ awkward was my profile.

As an adult, things did not get any easier, as I often did not go with the mainstream.  It was as if God had placed this ‘bent’ in me to intentionally be different.  For some folks, they thrive on that sort of thing, because it causes them to ‘stand out’ in a crowd.  For someone like me with enough insecurities to fill a closet, standing out in a crowd is so not what you desire.  I just wanted to fit in ~~ blend into the background and not be noticed.

I must say that I’ve long since come to appreciate the wonderful ‘humor’ of God.  For one so painfully shy that she would rather sit still in her chair dying of thirst rather than walk across a floor in a room filled with people to get a drink of water, for fear of being noticed.  God pulled me out of that chair decades ago …

He gave me a calling to do things that in my wildest dreams I certainly would not have raised a volunteer’s hand to do.  He drew me into a world of getting up in front of people and loaded my tool belt to be effective.  He raised me up with His Confidence, put words into my mouth, filled me with His Strength to go the length and graced my brain with ideas I know didn’t just wander in there.  He put me in good standing with those for whom I was entrusted and blessed me with respect from them. 

And He did it more than once …

For those who know me intimately, you know this Lolie (the younger version of Lola = Grandma in Filipino) has lived through two careers in her lifetime.  I am now into chapter three of this Journey of sorts.

To help me understand more fully the true employable version of me, I attended a workshop today.  This was about ‘transferrable skills.’  Funny, it reaffirmed who God created me to be on this planet.  I found it amusing that even though this was a secular activity, God proved to me His Design of me was constant.

I’m sure you’re all familiar with the various ‘personality assessment’ tests currently being used  in the workplace.  They proclaim to help you identify your strongest traits and to capitalize on these for gaining the advantage in your career path.

This workshop offered us a ‘color coded identifier’ sort of assessment test.  Like all the other tests, you select your answers based on how you respond to descriptive words regarding you.  At the end of the exercise, you tally up the scores and your color group points you towards the ideal professions that your personality profile would likely be adept.

Well of course, my scores reveal that I have tendencies towards two different color groups.  In other words, I am best described as a blend of two group profiles: blue and green.  It just happens that I have strengths that land in those two groupings more than the orange and yellow groupings. 

Immediately, it brought a smile to my face ~~ God’s design prevails!  I am uniquely His Perfect Design of teal (just happens that’s my signature color).  A little bit of this and a little bit of that.  God’s Humor made me chuckle, as I recalled how frustrated I was recently.

I was even more elated when I perused the list of professions that I am recommended to pursue ~~ they were the identical ones for which I had performed and excelled in in the past.  Fancy that.  It was a full-circle moment.  And one of great humility.

Go back to the Scripture verse that warmed my soul at that poignant moment.  My heart smiled back at its Creator.

When circumstances stir up a hurricane of emotions, let God calm the storm.

I find that I can reach out to Him when I’ve been focused on Him.  Because it is before the storm hits that I have been in communion with Him.

Girlfriend, it’s not about trying to identify the perfect job.  It’s about embracing the wondrous design of a human being that God made of you.  Your job is just the means by which He calls you to showcase the talents and abilities and skill set that He gave you to enlarge His Kingdom.  It’s not about boasting or bragging about achievements or awards or accolades ~~ those things burn up and fade away.  It’s about using that unique spirit that only you have in the manner that only you can do ~~ to reach the people that only you can impact the way you do.

The heart of the matter is the transformation of that fleshly heart into the soft and gentle, tender and compassionate, loving and forgiving heart of God.

Wrapping our minds around the ‘whys’ and ‘how comes’ of life and it’s speedbumps and potholes is not for us to spend our precious time on earth doing ~~ nor is it why we’re here.  I genuinely believe that we are meant to be productive doing the ‘assignments’ that God has ordained, using the tools He equips us with.

Whatever shade of the spectrum, God uniquely designed your heart to be filled with Him so that you can weather all the circumstances of life.  

So if you’re feeling a lil’ awkward, maybe you’re a teal like me.

His Ways are not our ways for a Purpose.  And believe me, I am glad.

I’d love to hear how you prepare your heart for life’s unexpected occurrences.  What would you tell your 18-year-old self if you could give her advice in this matter?

I love you to Heaven and Back, Girlfriend ~~

LindaRJohnson

T2T Visionary