Her successes humbled her; she softly accepted them with gratitude. Her wounds filled her heart with compassion, and she knew though painful, they would mature into wisdom that she would rely on to comfort others. Both together wrote her story; the story she drew from to minister to others with gentleness and grace. You, my dear, are a beautiful story with pages full of pleasure and pain that have formed your unique and eternal purpose.
Dear friend, whatever struggle is dominating your thoughts today is the very one that will swaddle you in strength. It will clothe you with compassion, and it will honor you with humility. Every painful circumstance becomes a purposeful square in the quilt you are sowing. Embrace the opportunity in your obstacles. Remember, when you are afraid you are available. When you are confused, you are connected. When you are waiting, you are watchful. When desperate you are dependent, and when lonely you are looking. In Jesus’s economy, weakness is the source from which all good and beautiful things grow. May grace fill every season of growth and spring streams of joy along your journeys.
There is someone today who needs you to stand in the gap and hold their weary arms up. Maybe it is through prayer, a phone call or lending a helping hand. Lord focus our eyes to see the needs that are so prolific around us. Give us the grace to be in-touch, interruptible and intentional so we may walk each other home well. Amen.
From the time, we take our first breath in this, world the number game starts. Numbers rule our world and define our worth.
From the beginning, it’s about weight, length, and head circumference. Are there ten fingers and ten toes? From then on every doctor visit hinges on numbers, height, weight and where you fall on the growth chart.
Then there is pre-school and elementary school. How high a child can count and who can add and subtract first. Moms and dad are racing to get their little ones ahead. Numbers begin to label children as smart or struggling.
Then, God help us all, middle school and high school starts, and everything is about a number. What you earn is what you are worth, or so the perception reigns. Soon it comes time for ACTs. A mere number becomes the fate on which most college options hinge.
When entering the workforce look out for those numbers. There are quotas, sales values, highest earners and so on; all surmised by numbers. Numbers judge who is the most valuable.
While numbers calculate workability on a given day or at a particular moment; they DO NOT quantify your worth. It should not be solely the quantity of our work that defines us but the quality of our hearts. Numbers are very inadequate judges of anything more than a mere instance in time. Numbers cannot measure one’s struggles. Numbers cannot measure one’s scars. They cannot measure the obstacles overcome. Humor and humility, kindness and compassion cannot be quantified. Determination and dedication are desirable qualities, not determined quantities.
Numbers have too much power in our world. They determine our earthly standing, but not our eternal security. There is no score book when we leave this life. No grade book. There are no bank accounts or plaques indicating top sales persons. There is only one number in Heaven- One Father, One Son, one you and one me.
Our judgment will not hinge on GPA’s, ACT’s, honors, trophies, income, productivity… None of those things come with us. They all turn to dust. (Matthew 6:19) We have no resume when we leave this life. All we have is the portfolio of our heart.
Jesus did not concern himself with numbers. He crossed the sea to save ONE demon possessed man. One man. (Mark 5) Jesus never asked anyone what is your IQ? What was your ACT score? He never asked anyone if they made their quota for the month. Jesus was only interested in matters of the heart; something numbers cannot quantify.
Don’t misunderstand me, hard work should be valued and rewarded. It, however, should not be the most valued standard by which society operates. Our righteousness was secured by Jesus’ great sacrifice not our performance. We have become a performance driven society; elevating those who are winning the race, and crushing those who fall short of keeping up.
It saddens me that we place so much emphasis on numbers because in the end only one number counts-one. One heart. In the end, we will not be quantified by our flourishing performance or worth, but by our fruit.
In the end will it be more critical that one-one you and one me-quantified as smart and efficient or qualified as surrendered and effective? If we focused more on the latter and not the first, I cannot help but wonder how much lighter life would be.
Numbers generate labels. Like the great children’s book, You Are Special, by Max Lucado, reminds us; labels are not permanent. They tend to fall off over time. Labels only stick if we let them! What we need to know and never forget is that while numbers may be indicators they are not dictators.
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”~Martin Luther King Jr.
I am a color, but my color does not define me.
I am born of a race, but I become who I choose to be.
God created me equal to all man so, please respectfully acknowledge me.
I have a heart that beats just like yours. It sins and loves no matter what my ethnicity.
History holds a wealth of bondage from scars inflicted by ancestors, you and me.
The future does not have to reflect our wounds. The choice is for God’s people, no matter color, race, religion or gender to spread and live in harmony.
There are good and bad of every kind; exclusive to no one-not yours or mine.
My birth branded me with many labels, but please do not use them to judge me. I only wish to be known as a person who desires to reflect God’s character and equality.
Kindness knows no boundaries in available hearts. It is immune to the prejudice of color, race or gender. It respects all; the receiver and the lender.
We are all one. May our eyes be blind to any differences, and our hearts be open to every kind. For it is in seeing, knowing and loving, many treasures we find.~D’Anna
May we all be the light that extinguishes the darkness, friends! Thank you Martin Luther King Jr. for you valuable contribution to this world. It was not the quantity of your life, but the quality that made all the difference!