“I can’t go in these!” This was David’s reaction when King Saul tried to put his own armor on David before the battle with Goliath (the story from the last post – 1 Samuel 17). King Saul was just trying to help. He saw a small kid standing in front him, who insisted he was the one to defeat the giant Goliath. I can just hear what he was saying to himself, “Well, if this kid really wants to do this, I’m going to do what I can to make him come back in one piece…that is, if he comes back.” Saul’s heart was in the right place, but David knew it just wasn’t he needed for the battle. It would not help, but hinder.
How many times do we do this to ourselves as moms? Or maybe we have someone in our lives that does it for us. We think, “This is what I need to succeed at this” or “if only I could do this, I’d be a better mom.” Me? I do it to myself. No, I don’t need any help in this department. My weakness is seeing more tangible talents in others. Don’t get me wrong, I know I have strengths, but they aren’t as tangible as others. Sometimes, I find myself dreaming of sewing, knitting, creating, inventing. Yes, creativity is my “large armor.” Of course, it’s okay for me to pursue these things, but it isn’t what comes naturally. I have to work hard at anything remotely creative, and even then it usually isn’t what I’ve envisioned. However, organization, structure, planning is what comes naturally to me. Staples is as close to heaven on earth as it gets for me. Sounds great right? Most of the time, the answer to this is, yes. But there are times when I think, a truly good wife and mother would do it ALL. She would organize and create with the best of them. I should be creating the world’s best filing system with one hand, keeping up with my toddler with the other, and with my feet be working on a craft that would make even Martha Stewart green with envy.
How silly this sounds on paper! David knew better than to buy into this kind of thinking. He knew that he had been equipped with what he needed, even though that armor looked like what was missing, it just didn’t fit him. Natural creativity doesn’t necessarily fit me and isn’t what is vital to who I am as a wife, mother, person. God has given me all the gifts and talents I need for what he has called me to. Some of these I know of already and others He is growing in me and others are waiting on me to grow. I can still stretch myself beyond what I feel comes naturally. That is a good thing to do. Don’t shrug off opportunities to grow yourself and your abilities. The important thing is to be satisfied with what God has equipped you with already and to recognized when something just doesn’t fit and would be more of a hindrance than a help in what He has for you.
Do you struggle with this? What is your “large armor?” What has God equipped you with that fits just perfectly?
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