Cure for the Common Life

I recently finished Max Lucado's Cure for the Common Life and wanted to recommend it to anyone that has every doubted themselves at any point for any reason when it came to our gifts as individuals. I read constantly now. I have books coming out of my ears, a kindle (which I LOVE), and an IPod Touch that I download them to so that I can listen at work. This one I listened to on my Touch and just couldn't stop until finished.

Basically, he goes into how God made each and every one of us for a purpose or a mission and if you are going against your gifts then your life becomes undescribably stressful because you are fighting God's will for your life. Light bulb on.

I have always tried to conform to fit in no matter what my surroundings were, but always seem to stand out in one way or another. Many of my talents are of the artistic nature. Don't get me wrong, I can't really draw to save my life, but decorating or arranging has been a true joy to me. When I turned 16, my first job was in our little town's flower shop. To this very day, I crave the fullfillment that I got from just making arrangements every single day and wish that I could go back to it for at least one second every day. I know this sounds silly, but maybe I am fighting what God made special about me. I hate to flatter myself, but I am gifted with that sort of work and it was obivous right from the start. A co-worker once asked me, "Why did you put that flower in that particular spot?" My answer seemed so strange to her but made perfect sense to me, "because that is just where it goes." It was the best I could do. I didn't know how to tell her that my imagination was the real one calling the shots at that moment.

I was told at the end of last week that we must "audit" ourselves constantly in order to maintain the best possible processes. There is definitely some merit to this thought. I have audited myself this weekend. I think I am trying to take back a little bit of control of my own life because I am not running it, but it is running me.

Some days I feel helpless and other days I feel on top of the world. All I am trying to say is that maybe we all have this thought in our heads that we must be rich or must climb the latter as quickly as possible. Truth is that everyone isn't meant for that. Am I? Not sure yet.

I know that God seems to always place me in leadership roles and I constantly question myself while guiding others, but I seem to have an ease with it. My wish is that I could get up and go to work and create everyday, like I did when I was younger. I felt whole then.

I love my job now. I feel like I am helping people, but it is a stressful time in the medical field. Maybe I am where I am suppose to be, or maybe I am not. God is the only one who knows and I can only pray he will point me in the correct direction. Thanks for reading and if you are questioning your own uniqueness, please go out and read The Cure for the Common Life by Max Lucado.

It was an eye opening experience