Life.Simple.Perspective

When we think of shape, we typically think of our physical shape.  The kind of shape that I’m referring to is the creative side of us, our wiring, our uniqueness…the person that God created us to be.  God loves variety!  He didn’t create any two people in the universe just alike…not even identical twins.  He created each one of us with our own individual S-H-A-P-E.

Here are the things that make each one of us unique…

• The “S” in s-h-a-p-e represents our spiritual gifts…those things that come natural to us; the things we were born with
• The “H” represents our heart…the things we love to do; what we are passionate about
• The “A” represents our abilities; our gifts and talents
• The “P” represents our personalities
• The “E” represents our life experiences, both good and bad

Sometimes we won’t know what kind of shape we’re in until we step out and try a few things.  In other words, we have to stop thinking about it and talking about it and start being about it! Only then will we discover what we’re really good at.  

This has happened to me several times before…once when I was pregnant with my son and decorating the nursery.  The room looked great!  I had painstakingly painted each wall a different color…pastel blue, pink, yellow and green with a matching border.  Gender reveal wasn’t as popular back then as it is now and I didn’t know whether we were having a boy or a girl.  The bedding I selected was a green gingham print but I couldn’t  find matching gingham curtains or wall hangings anywhere.  Those were the days before online shopping where you can find just about everything!   Frustrated I decided to pull out my sewing machine and get to work.  I never realized how good I was at sewing, appliquéing and creating fabric art until I tried.  The curtains turned out great as you can see from the snippet below. That’s my mom in the forefront…a very proud grandma showing off her first two grandchildren (she’s youthful and pretty too, don’t you think!) Unfortunately I couldn’t find a photo of the stuffed rocking horse and balloons that hung on the other wall; they turned out great also!

As the saying goes “necessity is the mother of invention” and not only had I created the nursery I had imagined but my newfound passion evolved into custom sewing jobs for others and participation in local craft shows.  I came up with a sweet little name for my business… “Gingham Creations” and even found a print shop that was willing to design blue and white checked business cards for me.  My little “cottage industry” eventually evolved again into a special event sign company where I helped celebrate newborns, birthdays and other special occasions with giant wooden yard signs.  I soon became affectionately known around the area as “the stork lady”. During this experience I learned a lot about woodworking, commercial paints and sign lettering.  Unfortunately it was also during this chapter of my life that I became a single mom. Somehow I managed to scratch out a modest living and continue to do the work that I had grown to love for several more years.   Once again I had tried something new and discovered that I was good at it.  

 

A few closing thoughts about the work we do…

If you love what you do, you’ll never have to work a day in your life; your vocation will feel like a vacation.

We are most like Our Creator when we are creating something. 

Even if you’re retired, it’s never too late to create.

So what kind of s-h-a-p-e are you in?  Are you doing the kind of work that God “shaped” you to do?

As always feel free to share your thoughts and comments.