What Word Describes You?

Two weeks ago, our Sunday School teacher passed out questionnaires to everyone, and told us to "interview" someone sitting at our table. So the teacher's wife, she was sitting across from me and asked if I wanted to partner up with her.

We had to ask each other these questions and write the answers down. I didn't realize until it was over that the teacher wants to put them in a book.

Ummm...I'd like to change some of my answers.

Some of the questions were simple, like "where did you grow up?" Or, "where did you meet your husband/wife?" And then there were some that required a lot of thought: "if you could ask Jesus to change one thing in the world, what would it be?"

I don't even know how to answer that last question.

But the one that stopped all of us...the 4 women at our table...was this one, "if you could describe yourself in one word, what would it be?"

And you should've heard us hem-hawing around. The two who knew each other were asking the other person's opinion. No one wanted to say, "hey, I'm really humble." Or, "I'm really nice to others." Or, "my family and friends would say that I'm very friendly and out-going."

No one wanted to claim that they had any good qualities.

Ladies, why do we do that to ourselves?

God made us. Surely He gave us spiritual gifts. We have talents and good qualities that we have also worked hard to improve.

But no one wanted to say anything good about themselves, so they kind of put something out there and ended it like a question. Like they weren't sure. Or like they didn't want people to think they were arrogant or something.

"Ummm...I might be a good listener?"

"I kind of like to serve my family, is that what you're looking for?"

"I'm really organized. Wait...that sounds bad. Put that I'm friendly. Wait. No, just put that I'm organized. (sigh) That sounds boring."

The men who were interviewing each other? "Uh...MIKE, I'd like to describe myself as driven." Or strong. Or decisive. Or a leader.

Confidence. Why don't we have it? I think maybe we've associated it with pride...like the bad kind of pride that can take over your life and make you believe more in yourself and your abilities than in the God who created your own self and gave you those abilities.

But we can have confidence...in Christ. "For You are my hope; O Lord God, You are my confidence from my youth." Psalm 71:5

And we can acknowledge that, yes, God created each of us uniquely and with different personalities and gifts (I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made..." Psalm 139:14); We have strengths that we should work to improve on with His help and guidance, and we have weaknesses that we should be aware of and, with His help, work to minimize.

Me? I said I was "funny."     
                                                                                                                  
My husband piped up from the peanut gallery to say I was funny LOOKING.

(And, as my kids will mimic my in-laws saying, "and he just laughed and laughed..." But they'll say it like this, "he just lay-uffed and lay-uffed.")

I'm slow blinking you right now, Mister.

"But He said to me, “My grace is enough for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in me." 2 Corinthians 12:9