There are several studies and books that talk about personality types.  One book refers to them as four different animals.  Based on that book, I am a playful otter, and my husband is a loyal golden retriever.  We had to laugh when we realized that must be one reason our marriage works so well; I like to have fun, and he likes to watch me have fun!

We both also have different giftings and strengths.  God gave me the giftings of a leader and teacher, with an anointing to teach children.  Dave has totally different giftings and callings, such as the gift to analyze situations and he has wisdom with finances.  (I, on the other hand, am not very good at either of those things.)

I don’t want to push him out of the way so I can do the things he is good at and does well, nor does he want to push me out of the way to do the things I am good at and do well.

I am thinking of one area in particular where these differences could definitely be seen as we raised our kids.  I almost always led our nightly family devotions when our children were young. I used to get very frustrated that Dave wouldn’t step in and take over. I saw it as a weakness in him, and I’d get upset (but I wouldn’t tell him about my frustration, I would just stew about it.)

Years later, after our children were grown, we had a discussion about it.  After all those years, I finally realized he was allowing me to use my giftings in our home with our own children. He wasn’t being a husband pushing his wife out of the way just to be the “man of the house” based on what others thought a husband and father should do.

There are those who will say that means I was “wearing the pants in the family” and Dave was not being the head of the home.  But that wasn’t the case.  Our marriage has always been one of co-submission, and I have always allowed him to have the final word on decisions made in our home. (See my previous blog What I Have Learned About Submission After 31 Years of Marriage.)

How about you? Are there areas in your life you are weak in, where you pull others forward to take your place?  Or do you insist on doing it yourself, while someone who could do it so much easier and better is forced to watch on the sidelines?

Don’t let what others might think of you keep you from being effective in what God has called you to do.

God’s plans for us are not “man-sized” plans; they are “God-sized” plans.  That means you are going to need others to help you.

Insisting on doing something myself when there is someone in my life who can do it for me, and do it better than me, is called pride.

James 4:6 tells us “God resists the proud” (NKJV).  Some translations say God opposes the proud.  It goes on to say that He gives grace to the humble.

So I can either walk in pride, insisting on doing something that is not my area of gifting, and have God resist or oppose me,

OR

I can humble myself, allowing someone else to be used in their gifting, and have God’s grace be a part of whatever it is I am doing.

So we get to choose whether we want God’s resistance or God’s grace. It seems a bit obvious when we look at it from God’s perspective, doesn’t it?

Is there a time when you stepped aside and let someone else’s gifting shine, and you saw God’s grace come in a sweet or powerful way?  I would love to hear about it in the comment section below.

Fractals?  The first time I heard of this word was in the book The Shack, by William P. Young. I had no idea what it meant.  Since then, I have come to not only know the meaning in my head, but to understand its deep implications in my heart.

So what exactly is a fractal?  I really can’t tell you. I am a very simple minded person, and it seems unless you are a scientist or a mathematician (and I am neither one of those) the definition is hard to grasp.

We all know if we need information in today’s world, we Google it.  So here is some of what I found for definitions of the word fractal.

“Any of various extremely irregular curves or shapes for which any suitably chosen part is similar in shape to a given larger or smaller part when magnified or reduced to the same size.” (Merriam-Webster)

“An object whose parts, at infinitely many levels of magnification, appear geometrically similar to the whole. Fractals are useful in modeling structures (such as eroded coastlines or snowflakes) in which similar patterns recur at progressively smaller scales, and in describing partly random or chaotic phenomena such as crystal growth, fluid turbulence, and galaxy formation.” (Yahoo Dictionary)

So are you like me, and have to read the definitions slowly, and think about what you are reading?  (If you want to pursue the definition further, you can find a whole slew of similar definitions by going here.  thefreedictionary.com/fractal)

But I did find one definition that seemed to use more simple terms I could understand.

“A fractal is a natural phenomenon or a mathematical set that exhibits a repeating pattern that displays at every scale.” (Thank you, Wikipedia.)

So, putting all of this together, my understanding is that a fractal is a pattern which looks similar as a whole, but when examined at a deeper level, each piece is actually unique.

That brings me to something I have always enjoyed.

From the time I was a little girl, I am easily mesmerized by kaleidoscopes.  I just love them, and have continued to buy them, even as an adult. Imagine my thrill when I discovered there are actually videos of these images set to music! (The Splendor of Color Kaleidoscope) 

One day while watching one of these videos, I asked God why I love kaleidoscopes so much.  He so graciously shared these seven things with me.

• All the broken pieces are made into something exquisitely beautiful
• Constant change doesn’t have to be something bad to dread, but something wonderful if I have the eyes to see it
• The patterns created are limitless, just like He is limitless in my life
• The external movement of force creates the internal movement of beauty
• It causes me to pause from whatever I am in the middle of, and just rest in the beauty of what is in front of me
• The changing swirling colors are a way on earth to have a representation of the beauty of the colors in heaven
• If I do my part, I am rewarded with the beauty of the kaleidoscope doing what it was made to do

Sounds kind of like a fractal to me; irregular pieces coming together to make a beautiful pattern for others to enjoy.

It also sounds a lot like my life. No wonder I love kaleidoscopes and fractals.

How about you?  Do you see yourself as a bunch of broken pieces God is using to turn into a beautiful fractal?

And by the way, those who know me well, know that I am very naive and childlike when it comes to the “ways of the world”.  Some people (including Christians) believe that is a bad thing in today’s world.  I am thankful to be pure and innocent in so many areas most people are not.  I say this, because I was quite surprised to read below the kaleidoscope video that it is used mostly to enhance the experience of those on drugs.  I have no problem taking what was meant for the kingdom of darkness and bringing it into the Kingdom of Light!