Home alone, I heard a LOUD KUR-THUD come from upstairs. So loud that I seriously almost ran out of the house because I thought there had to be an intruder. And then, for some reason, this thought came to mind, "I bet the crazy dog was trying to drink the goldfish water and knocked them off their stand." So instead of fleeing the house, I ran upstairs, and that is exactly what had happened. I ran into Maren's room (they are Maren's fish) and the bowl was on the floor. Water and rock from the bowl were everywhere, and the dog was licking her chops.
I thought, "If she ate those fish, I'm going to hurt her badly." Ha, I totally forgot about the whole "don't repay evil for evil" concept in that moment. After I tossed the dog out of Maren's room, I began to look for Cosmo and Wanda, and I found them...totally lifeless. No flip flopping or nothing. I couldn't believe how much I cared for these fish all of a sudden, when up to that point I couldn't have given a flip flop about them. So I gave them mouth to mouth, and started yelling "stay with me!!" kidding. I hurried up and put them into the bowl, and RAN to the bathroom and began putting water back in, and as soon as the water hit them, they began to swim. YAY!!!! So far, so good. I hope they make it through the night and survive the stress of all that!
Right after that happened, and things calmed down, I was reminded of an analogy that I heard someone use just recently about how fish were made to swim, and when you take them out of the water they can't do anything. And they related that to our God given gifts. That's the way we are too. When we operate within the realms of how God has gifted us, we swim beautifully, just as the fish do in water. But when we operate outside the way God has gifted us, we tend to struggle within that, and often lose our joy. I looked like the fish out of water the time I tried to teach the three year old class. LOL. I was not really operating within the realm of what I'm good at, or how God has gifted me. And I'm pretty sure it wasn't good for the three year olds either!!
If you're struggling with knowing what your "gift" is, then send me a message. We have "gift tests" at the church that I can hook you up with.
2 comments :
I can truly relate to this. Too many times we are wanting a specific gift and fail to acknowledge the one (or ones) God has given us. Lord, help me to be all You desire me to be and operate in the gift you've entrusted to me.
Way to go ,Melissa! Thanks for the life application as well. :)
Post a Comment