Come See This!

At Fitness Group, the children huddle around me and tug on my sleeve because they have things to show me.

One boy has drawn a dragon out of chalk that spans the length of 3 cars.  He drags me over to his drawing, insisting that I observe the scales, the teeth, the wings, the claws.  With precise detail, he explains his work.  "You have to see this!" he cries and points to the "primary set of claws."    

Others alert the parents to ducks that have landed in the far corner of the parking lot.  "Watch me chase them!" I hear.  Still another displays a kite in the shape of an owl.  "Come see this!" she calls out.

Others jump rope and tell me I have to watch them. 

I consider how beautiful this insistence to come see this! is.

It won't always be this way.

At some point, they'll stop showing themselves--and their discoveries--off.  They'll become self-conscious and internal, hidden away and private.  The world becomes a critical judge, and they'll hide. They'll become embarrassed and worried about the crowd.

They'll produce things that deserve our attention, but we won't know about them because they won't dare tell anyone.

I know because I teach college seniors.  Dragon drawings will stay hidden in notebooks.  Nobody admits to chasing ducks or wanting to fly an owl kite.

I wish we all did. 

Living with flair means we build communities where it's right and good to cry out, "Come see this!"  We build communities where we invite others to show us what they've made, where they tell us what they're thinking, and where we watch and listen intently.  That's why I love Saturday Morning Pancakes and Creative Projects Night Out with the Ladies (what we did for my birthday in autumn).

In these spaces, we celebrate one another and rediscover that child within that once drew dragons, chased ducks across a parking lot, and told everyone about it.  Come see this! 

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Journal:  What have you made or been doing that you can tell others about?

Making Us Suitable

Do you remember my huge gardening mistake?

This morning, I look out the window and remember how difficult it was for me to remove all the blossoms and young fruit from my blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries that first season.  I didn't understand it!  I didn't want to wait!  But I learned this:  

This counter-intuitive and destructive move would make my plants thrive.  If I take away the fruit, the plant directs the energy and nutrients to the most important part of the plant: the root system.  A new berry plant needs a few years to make an indestructible foundation of roots. 

I walk out to the garden and notice the morning dew on the strawberries.

The berry patch has tripled--maybe quadrupled-- in size.  My deliberate attempts to diminish these plants by removing the fruit worked.  

Even the raspberries come back larger and more abundant.  This bush was one shoot last summer. 
 

I'll never forget this.  What looks like a fruitless season--cut short, wasteful, damaged, stolen--is preparation for abundance.  We are being made ready and suitable in advance.  My roots are being nourished and strengthened to support what's coming next.  It may take a year or two (even three), but it's God's preparation for the fruit to come.

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Journal:  Do you feel like you are in a season of preparation? 

Are You Confident?

Confidence.  I think about this word today because I read a story about a woman who changed her hair color.  She became so much more confident.  A silly thing--an external change--altered her perception of herself and influenced how she interacted with others.  

I look up the word.  Confidence means you have assurance about yourself and your abilities.  But where does it come from?  Why are some folks so confident?  They move forward with a security--a trust--that they can launch out into new frontiers with sure success.

Others have ideas that flicker out like snuffed flames because they can't imagine themselves ever really doing what they want so badly to do. They cower under the reality of potential criticism, inexperience, and insecurity. 

As I imagine a picture of confidence, I realize that confidence comes from the deeply held belief that we're unconditionally accepted, equipped, and commissioned by God to do things.  If we fail, it doesn't matter: we're accepted (and even in failure, God works out a favorable outcome).  If we feel inadequate: we remember God equips (and in our limitations, God shines).  If we feel uncertain: we recall that God has set apart the good works for us to accomplish. We're commissioned.   

When my writing book showed up on amazon, I had a moment of sheer terror.  It was public.  I was going to be mocked!  I was going to fail and forever go down in history as the poor woman who tried to write a book (in reality, nobody really thinks about us as much as we imagine).  But when I picture the confident me--the one whose confidence rests in God who does not fail us--I took a deep breath and remembered the truth. 

Living with flair means we cultivate a picture of confidence.  What do we want to do that a simple lack of confidence hinders? 

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Journal:  What takes our confidence away?