Posts Tagged: facing our strengths

“The Courage to Face Our Strengths”

On July 15, 2018 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

Many of us have a hard time facing our weaknesses and failures.  I do too.  Some of us have an even harder time facing our strengths.  Here is a blog that may help you to face up to your strengths.  It most certainly helped me!

This post is a very slightly edited e mail exchange that helped to kick-start my day.  G. is a friend from my 12-step group, and is one of the most interesting, sharp, and encouraging people I know.

I have edited the exchange in order to respect the anonymity of both G. and me.  I am the “D.” in the exchange.  His e mail to me comes first.  My reply to G. follows.

“Dear D.

I spent half of this last year faking it, hoping to make it.  I prayed, I surrendered to God, I listened for God.  It took that time just to start hearing something from Him.  Eventually I realized He was talking to me all along.  I just didn’t see how.

One of the ways I figured it out was watching and listening to you.  You understand God as well as any person I know.  Your ability to tell us things that God is saying is amazing.

Now you say that you are not good at talking with God.  That doesn’t exactly make a novice like me see any hope.  You just don’t see it.

I watch you talk about your wife, and I see God speaking in both of you.  I watch that because watching you as you think about her tells me all I need to know.  I listen and watch you talk about bible verses and I see a man who is connecting to God and the prophets.

So once again you are reducing the positive effects of you thoughts by diminishing yourself.  As Bob Newhart said:  “STOP IT”.  Look it up if you don’t know.

You are a better man than that.  The only problem is, I don’t know if you’ll ever see how much God loves you until you let Him tell you and you believe it.  We may be a bunch of addicts, but everyone in SLAA (except for a couple) Knows you’re a good person, a smart person, a loving person, in touch with God, and a great friend.

So right now, stand up, look to heaven, and say to God:  You made me a good person, I know I’m a good person, and I’m going to show myself I am and listen to You whenever You tell me something.)  Then relax and clear your mind.  That warm fuzzy feeling is God talking to you.  Even I know that.

If you show this to your wife (that’s fine), now is when she can kick your butt for me.  You said to call you out.  I hope you weren’t kidding.

Your Friend

G.

 

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Dear G.,

Thank you so much!  Your e mail was just about how I began my day.  (Well, in the spirit of full disclosure, I did get up, make coffee, go to the bathroom, weigh myself, and take the dog out.  But other than that, you were the beginning of my day.)  And what a wonderful way to begin my day!

Yesterday, I wanted to spend the whole day with God, and feel that, in large measure, I did.  Thanks to your e mail, I feel as if He has started off the day tenderly saying, “Could we do that again, my child?”

And my answer is, “I’d love to, my LORD!”

One of the things I almost mentioned about you at the 7:00 a.m. meeting yesterday (when we were discussing our spiritual gifts) is that you are an encourager.  You are one of the most encouraging people I think I’ve ever met.  And, oh my!  In this world, where discouragement has become a sick art form, how much encouragement is needed by all of us!

Yes, I really did give you permission to call me out.  And yes, I really am bad about putting myself down.  Humility is good, and I wish I had more of it.  However, merely putting myself down is not the same as humility.

About being “a novice”: We are all of us novices.  That is not putting me or you or anybody down, I hope.  That is simply the truth.  The God who created the universe and died for us on the cross—how could we ever wrap our minds around such a God?!

But God loves the beginners we are.

And as for the Newhart reference, yes, I am familiar with it.  The lady who went to him had a fear of being buried alive, if my memory serves me correctly.

I don’t have a fear of that, but I do have a fear of not living fully.  Your e mail helps me to see that I really am living fully, and have nothing to fear.  I just need to, as you say, relax and clear my mind.

And as for my wife kicking my butt?  She’s a really kind lady, but I’m sure that she would be glad to oblige.

With Warm Regards and Great Appreciation,

 

D.
 

 

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