knit together

I have a group of girlfriends I call the #livefree girls. They are women who are brave and who desire to live free in every aspect of their being. The other day we were having a conversation about who we are.

My friend, Cindy Krall, asked this:

If God knit me together, does He smile when I do it?

Hmm. Since God is my Creator, what does He think when I fully live in the way He made me? Does He love it when I appreciate His handiwork? Those questions followed me throughout my day.

He’s a unique God. Creative. Diverse. Yet I think we apologize a lot for the way He knitted us together.

psalm139

I’m sorry I am too loud. I’m sorry I’m so quiet. I’m sorry I’m not that great of a leader. I’m sorry that I’m not like you.

What might happen if we started to celebrate the way He knitted us together instead?

We’d put ourselves out there

I’m a good listener. I love to laugh. I’ll jump on a roller coaster (I did last weekend), even if it’s going to beat me up and throw me upside down. I have good ideas. I love people. I can see the good in someone when they might not.

I love to pray, and worship takes me to the heart of the Father.

I’m goofy. I can’t tell a joke to save my life, but I really appreciate a great one. I laugh until I cry. I like mowing the lawn. I love planting and looking at flowers. When I’m at the Farmer’s Market and musicians play on the street corner, something inside of me want to dance. I’m an encourager. I’m a good team player. I try to treat people the way I want to be treated. I notice those who are unseen.

These aren’t necessarily resume busters, and there’s some negative I could sprinkle in there.

But this is me.

Those traits show up in some way in every role I play. So if I put myself out there, it means I’m not going to try to be like you. I’m going to be me in ministry, as a mom, with people, in my private life where only God gets to see.

It gets jacked up when I have tried to be something else, the textbook version of a leader or administrator or some other person who doesn’t live inside of me.

When I admit, “this is me,” it allows me to be genuine. I don’t feel like a failure or that I somehow don’t measure up to something or someone else.

We’d appreciate the way God made others

Maximizers make me nervous. Is it okay if I just say that? If you are a maximizer, your brain doesn’t work in the same way mine does. I’m hoping for a nap, and you’ve come up with ten different ways to reach the nations through social media. It’s not that I’m not great with ideas. I am. But you take those ideas and rock the world with them.

I’m a good team player and encourager. Put a hammer in my hand or let me encourage the troops, and I’m your girl.

But we need maximizers and number crunchers and administrators and prayer warriors and those who serve behind the scenes. When we all bring our unique selves to the table, something pretty incredible happens.

We’d fine tune the traits we don’t like

With every strength, there’s a weaker side to it. My empathy can make me a fixer.

Your leadership qualities can lead to bossiness.

Those servant qualities can make you struggle to say no.

That doesn’t give us permission to say, “Hey, this is me, get over it. It’s who I am.”

Every strength has a basement. For me, because empathy can also lead to trying to fix others, I have to be self-aware, but thank goodness I also have the help of the Holy Spirit.

What is the basement of your strength? Has it made you dislike your strength or hide it? What would it look like to tune it up?

I’m excited about today’s #livefreeThursday conversation. We’re going to get to know each other a little better.

This is me, friends. Roller coaster, fixer-upper recoverer, rah-rah girl, a woman who loves to laugh and who loves Jesus. I’m far from perfect, but God knit me together.

You are beautifully knit together. Share one thing about you that I might not know.

I can’t wait to get to know you better!

Suzie

cindykrallI’d love to introduce you to one of my #livefree friends, Cindy Krall. I first met her at She Speaks. She’s beautiful. She’s funny. She’s tender hearted.

She’s a DoAhead woman who shows us how to live prepared, but she does it in an original way that I adore.

Check out her blog. You won’t regret it. 

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