do it with all your might… Colossians 3:23 and also Ecclesiastes 9:10
Chicken, dolphin trainer, gymnast, cheerleader, horseback rider, jewelry designer, “silly whim”, artist, dancer, mommy, dog, jewelry maker, song writer… this is just a short list of some of the “careers” our daughters wanted to be when they grew up. When we’re young, the world is full of limitless possibilities that are explored daily through stories and imagination! Every day is a new adventure and we think about the ideas that are thrilling to us! We dream BIG!! And then we learn that reality can be as thrilling as our wildest dream!
My husband has known since he was in the 7th grade that he would be a chiropractor. Not everyone has the advantage and privilege of knowing what their career will be that early on in life. But it was a true calling and every one of the gifts that he has is suited to this profession. He is a doctor, a teacher, and he has the communication skills to effectively reach 10’s of thousands of people a year, helping them understand the connection between their spine, their nervous system, and their lives. He is a master of the analogy, explaining spinal care to each unique person in the language they understand, whether they are engineers, mechanics, homemakers, CEO’s, or athletes, he can equate what he does to what they already know! It is a true gift! As his wife, I reap the benefit of his joy, his elation over God’s miracles as he witnesses them every single day.
My oldest daughter, Caitlin, is a servant. She has a servant’s heart and an ear with God. She is using her gifts for the purpose they were created. And I know this because of a phone call that I received from her last week. It was after her store had closed on Sunday, and she wanted to tell me about a customer that she had. It was a mom and a daughter, probably 14 or 15 years old who was at that awkward awful stage in her teen-age life, feeling less than pretty with a body that was not cooperating. She needed a dress. She hated dresses. She wanted to get slacks. Her mom sweetly told her how beautiful she was, and that she wanted to get her something that she felt comfortable in, but that was appropriate for the event that she was attending. Caitlin observed this exchange, and processed it within seconds from God’s perspective, as she is so gifted to do, and stepped in to help this mom and daughter that she could so easily relate to… this could have been Caitlin and I ten years ago, and Caitlin still remembers these conversations. Caitlin also has a knack for looking at an individual, their style, their body type, their skin coloring and choosing the perfect piece of clothing to accentuate the positive, and “de-centuate” the negative. It’s a special gift. She proceeded to get the daughter situated in a dressing room, and told her that she would bring her a variety of things for her to try on… for fun. She pulled dresses and slacks, tops, skirts, all of it, but she already knew which one would be perfect for her and the occassion. A pretty little black dress. Caitlin and the mom chatted together while the young woman changed. Caitlin confessed her similarities to the daughter and her shared dislike of dresses at that age. As they chatted, something happened in the dressing room when the girl put on the dress, she transformed into the beauty that her mom had told her she was for so many years. When she came out of the fitting room, the mom’s eyes filled with tears. And she hugged her daughter tightly. They bought the dress. Caitlin doesn’t just manage a clothing store, with faithfulness, she loves and serves people in a way that is extraordinary.
Lily is a dancer and a teacher. When she returns from the dance studio, whether it is her 3 year old pre-dancers, or a teenage group of hip-hoppers, she is springy, and her eyes are so bright, they are almost clear. She is truly happy, visibly happy from her core all the way out to her tippy toes and her jazzy hands, with stories about their progress, not just with dance technique, but how they are changing emotionally. She has the ability through teaching dance to relate to her students in a way that draws them out, and they begin to uncover a new dimension to who they are, they are expressive and deeply alive. The parents notice the difference, love the difference, and continue to bring them week after week. God created Lily to be a teacher who loves children… all of them, little, big, short, tall, shy, lively, autistic, extraverted, she loves them all and they can feel it and they love her back. I know Lily will teach dance again. It’s her gift, her passion, and it’s in her soul, a part of who she is, a part that is temporarily missing. And I can see that in her beautiful eyes too.
And Grace. Since Grace was born, she has been drawing horses, running like a horse, naying like a horse, and pretending to ride on horses. Neither Terry nor I grew up with horses, or particularly had any affinity for horses whatsoever, but we knew this was something that would be a part of Grace’s life forever and we embraced it. In 2005, when she was 12, we bought her a horse named Ca$h. They have grown up together and they have been through a lot together, more than most. Grace now works at the barn riding horses, cleaning stalls, teaching lessons, caring for other peoples’ horses, riding and training Ca$h, whatever she can do to help. Grace chooses to be there. The Riding Centre is her refuge. She seeks out the hard work and the comraderie of the people and the animals to help her make sense out of life. She gives so much of herself and when she is working with the horses or around the horses, she gets so much in return. Grace has been given the gift of gentleness and compassion and she uses those gifts to reflect God’s Glory, even in a barn.
And me… that’s a little bit trickier. I have listened very carefully and used much discernment in whose voice I was hearing throughout the past 23 years of my life. We are called to this thing or that thing, willy-nilly, one distraction after another. There are many things that I enjoy doing, and am gifted at… not to sound conceited, but it is true… haha… but throughout that time, I stayed focused on the singular idea that God needed me to be in our home, sharing our lives together as a family, the planner of all things, the organizer of our home, the teacher of our girls.
For the past 23 years, people would ask me… “So what do you do?” And I would reply with joyfulness, “I teach our children and take care of our home.” As the girls grew older and were starting high school and then graduating, people would ask me, “Sooooo, what are you going to do once the girls are all graduated?” And I would consistently reply, “Probably something.” But it would leave me wondering whether I was being remiss about my future, wondering if I should have all this worked out by now. I just knew that God would let me in on His Plans for my life when the time was right. He knew that if I had too much information and too much time to prepare, I would dive in and start figuring it out on my own. So He has only given me glimpses, little bits and pieces of my life’s puzzle. What a smart God I serve!!
During a time that I would have expected to be overwhelmingly sad, as we were driving home from moving Lily to Atlanta with her husband, God says to me, in His usual right-on-time fashion, “This is what I am going to have you do for me. I want you to help people understand the connection between living well and just living. And it is going to start with the removal of poisons from their bodies… physical, emotional, spiritual toxins that are destroying individuals, marriages, families and communities. Because people are too sick to love.” And I joyfully said, “I will.” And so I am.
We are all called to work, each one of us is given a unique set of gifts that is developed and honed over the years and will be used for the purpose we were created. When those gifts are matched with the desires of our heart and the work that we do, we are living well.
In Faith and in Love,
Lisa
P.S. Oliver is very secure in his career of being the most beautiful white dove on the planet… cooing and preening to amuse me. What a great job!
Loves Doves 