Tag: weakness

When I ordered our cable two weeks ago they asked if I wanted to pay to have someone install it, or if I wanted them to send me the “easy connect kit.” Little did I know the phrase is an extreme oxymoron. After an hour on the phone with tech support, and talking to FOUR different people, a girl finally offered to send someone out. Yes please. In case you didn’t already pick up on this , I am a do-it-yourself type. When I was 18, I once installed a CD burner on my computer without ever opening a computer before. I have no idea how I did that. Believe it or not my dad used that very computer until recently. Bless him, and yes patience is a strength of his. But lately, I am becoming more comfortable with the things I am not good at. I often see cute little signs on Etsy, and think I can do that. So rather than paying the $80 for the sign, I make a sign that looks more something from a murder scene. Helpful hint: if you are out of white paint, go buy more before crafting, red paint cannot be substituted for white paint! Here’s the realization I am coming to, it’s okay to not be good at everything. The need to be good at everything is actually rooted in pride. God has designed each of us with a unique set of strengths and weaknesses so that we need one another. Can we just go back to bartering people? Alas, here are 3 reasons we can all let go of the things we aren’t good at- 1. It lends to a healthy society. In a healthy society and community we need each other. Whether that’s exchanging services or paying for services that contributes to the economy around you. We are designed for community and a healthy interdependence with those around us. 2. It frees you up to spend time doing the things you are good at! What do you do really well? What are friends always asking for you help with? When we are willing to admit our weaknesses, we find freedom to pursue the things we are good at. If you are trying to do everything yourself, stop. Odds are you aren’t doing much great. 3. It will be far less frustrating for you and those around you. I am not doing my husband any favors when I continually try to do-it-myself. He’s taught me that sometimes you just need to hire someone. There are times when my confidence has grown us and we’ve realized we can do more than we thought, but there is a balance with this. Often humility says I need help with this, while pride says I can do and I know the best way.* I may or may not have gotten lectured by our apartment maintenance guy for trying to open the water heater cover a couple weeks back. It did spark and I did jump. Thankfully I am still here working on letting them do their job while I do mine. *If you’re not sure which camp you fall into, ask your spouse of your best friend. They can probably tell you if you need to let go of some of your to-do’s or if you could grow in some confidence and try some new things. I am going to write about living in your strengths another day, but for today I wanted to share some ways to become free concerning your weaknesses.