Magnificently Unique

"Cover me.....cover me-e-e...."  uh-um......uh-um......(clear throat).... I think I'll try that again.


"Cover me.......cover me-e-e....."  hmmmm.......


In my head, I imagine myself sounding just like the track that plays this song - a song from the Passion Play our church is performing in a few weeks.  It's one of my favorite songs of the play and tells of the blood of Jesus covering my sins.  This year my very own brother- and sister-in-law are singing it.  They sound even better than the cd track.  Funny though, I can't quite make myself sound like them.  In fact, I don't sound anywhere close!  My kids chuckle as I belt it out anyway while driving down the road.  (Coincidentally, I'm a narrator in the play and not a soloist - imagine that!)  As much as I want to make beautiful music flow effortlessly from my vocal chords, it just doesn't happen.  No, at best, I'm just an average alto.  Just an average choir member.  I would be a ball of nerves if I had a solo. 


The same brother-in-law that sings "Cover Me" in the play has said to me a couple of times in the last two years of my being a narrator, "I just don't see how you narrator-people do it.  I just couldn't memorize all those lines and keep them straight!"  Really? I love being a narrator.  I wouldn't want to be anything else.


Hmmm.......


It started me thinking of the many wonderful differences in God's creation of people.  Even though we are all  made of the same types of cells and atoms, our personalities and talents come in a wide variety.  So much of the insecurity of the world is based on trying to measure up to others.  Accepting our own unique gifts and abilities is a great step toward appreciating how God made us for His purpose and His glory.  And it's a great step toward peace over what and who we are not. This doesn't mean I can't become better at singing, but I will likely never sound like my in-laws, no matter how hard I try. 


My husband tends to get very frustrated when he can't fix something around the house.  He's not one of those guys that can tear something apart and enjoy the sport of putting it back together - nor does he even want to.  When construction or repair needs to be done at our church and the men are asked to show up, he shows up for the demolition part only. (That's my strong man!) He has often felt inadequate or unhelpful during these times - sort of beating himself up for not being able to take on that role.  What he does do well, however, is music.  He has a voice like James Taylor and can play the strings off a guitar.  It comes easy to him. Given a few minutes, he can even sit down at the piano and play close to about any song he hears, as well. 


What one person does well, someone else struggles with.  What may seem like torture to one person, may be a source of relaxation to another.  This person talented here.  That person gifted there.  Each of us magnificently unique.....created by the Master Artist for our good and His glory. God is inexhaustible in His realm of creativity.  He IS Creator God.  He makes us just like we are to serve and glorify Him with our talents. 


My children, too, are all very different.  One is more outgoing while another is uncomfortable being in the spotlight.  One is best with numbers, and another is great with words.  One requires quite a bit of sleep, where another is fine with not as much.  One uses many (many) words, and one uses very few.  I do my best to encourage them in their differences.  Yes, they must push pass comfort zones that are solely based on insecurity, but I also must help them identify where they are most comfortable.  That's probably the very area God wants them to shine for Him.


Thankfully my home church doesn't rely on me for solos or my husband for construction.  Whew! There are other people for those things.  We are all created in His image with talents and gifts that represent Him.  If there were only soloists and no narrators, the play wouldn't be as effective.  If there were only construction workers but no guitarists, Sunday worship might be blessed with a great set, but it would lack the beauty and fill only an instrument can provide.  I don't mention these things as a means to provide excuses, but I say them to embrace the reality of the situation.  We can't do everything well, and to think we can or should is prideful.  We are called to look for, embrace, and use the gifts and talents God has given us to further His kingdom. 


What are your strengths?  Where are you most comfortable? What brings you joy when you do it?  How has God made you and set you apart for His glory?  Is there an area that God showed out a little when He made you?  Those areas are not for you or for your arrogance.  Those special gifts are for Him alone - to give them back, use them, and show His glory to others through them.
How has God made you magnificently unique for His glory?

"You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body.  ....A body isn't just a single part blown up into something huge.  It's all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together.  ...If the body was all eye, how could it hear?  If all ear, how could it smell?  As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it.  ...What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place.  No part is important on its own. ...The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church:  every part dependent on every other part, the parts we see and the parts we don't.  ....You are Christ's body - that's who you are! Only as you accept your part of the body does your "part" mean anything."  1 Corinthians 12: 12b, 14, 17, 20, 25, 27  (The Message)