What did you like to play as a child?

Our women’s minister asked us this question. Years ago a seminary professor asked her the same question. She remembered lining her siblings up in chairs & teaching them while her mother cooked dinner. She loved to teach. Yet years of abusive relationships & discouragement had squelched that talent. A gift God had given her laid dormant until she remembered a simple childhood activity.

Stop & think: What childhood game or activity did you enjoy as a child?

As I pondered this question several things came to mind: hours spent exploring the woods behind our house creating worlds & adventures, mothering my 7 Cabbage Patch Dolls, countless hours reading “The Babysitter Club books”, journaling vacation trips, writing down names from tombstones & writing stories about who they were (I know, that’s a weird one!), dressing up & writing plays…

Common threads: creativity, verbal expression & a strong maternal instinct.

This is why I continue to write a blog while I have a six-week-old newborn and three other young children. It feeds my soul and it’s how God created me.

Many people have offered the advice to consider not blogging during this busy season. Their hearts were well-intentioned. It seems like logical advice. Cut back. Simplify my life. But when I heard their suggestion it sounded like they were asking me to stop breathing. To stop being me.

It wasn’t until my women’s minister spoke about individuality and remembering our childhood passions that I understood why I felt that way.

God gave me specific gifts & talents. When I am using those gifts & talents for His glory it is not work it is worship. It is natural and brings me joy.

However, spending my time organizing people’s closets and giving fashion advice…that would be work. Or training for a triathlon… Or planning a wedding…

Jae can organize closets & she and Amber give great fashion advice. Cari loves training for Ironman races. Elizabeth and Carrie can easily plan a wedding. Kathryn and Holly are gifted singers. They all thrive in their element. God is using them uniquely.

From our mother’s wombs God has knit us in such a way to be used for His glory. My knitting pattern is different from yours. We can’t compare them. Both patterns are unique, intricate, and beautiful…but they are completely different.

Don’t assume what seems to be “work” to you is “work” for me. What may seem like a burden to you may be a blessing for me. 

We waste precious time & energy yearning for other’s gifts & talents. Let’s discover our own passions. Embrace them. Be used by Him!

I also want to observe my children. To study what they enjoy playing. To encourage them in their talents & gifts. To remind them how they can be used for Kingdom Building work.

What did you enjoy playing as a child? Are you able to do something similar now that feeds your soul & ministers to others?