I've titled this blog "Sharing THE Playground." Notice there is a significant difference in the word YOUR and THE. I wanted to bring this to your attention first thing because YOUR playground is YOUR playground! Your playground, as I previously mentioned, will not look like anyone else's playground. Why? Because there is NO ONE like you! Even when someone operates in what appears to be the same gifting and talents you may possess, they are not you, and you are not them! I'm attempting to drive that so deeply into your mind, that you never forget!!
Years ago - 1999 to be exact, I was trying to be someone other than myself to attract someone I was interested in at the time. God spoke to me clearly and directly and this is basically what He said...."Tammy, you rob yourself and others of the gift of you, when you're trying to be someone else. I've created you and fashioned you with a purpose. The way I've put you together, needs to be lived authentically, for you to touch those I've called you to touch, and develop the relationships I've planned for you to develop, and to make the impact I've called you to make!" It hit me so hard when God spoke that to my heart! It's also then, that I made a conscious decision to live authentically, no matter what!
So lets talk about "THE" playground. Erica had made a reference to something by a comment she made (see Jesus on Your Playground) that was so true. She said "Too often we get caught up in "Who is the greatest among us" and miss that Jesus is playing with the kids." Now one thing I know, from raising a child myself, is that kids are usually selfish by nature, but especially when they are playing with others. There are a few kids that have this supernatural gift of selflessness, but I have not seen many! Parent's are constantly trying to teach their kids to share their toys, or let someone else have a turn crossing the monkey bars, etc. You get my point, even if you don't have children! Just observing them tells you everything you need to know. I'm thinking back on how every Summer my daughter would go to her godparent's home for a few weeks. Being a single mom for well, basically the whole time of raising my daughter, I tried very hard to surround her with a healthy traditional family environment (mom, dad, kids, etc.) so she could be in the mix of how one operates. Well, her godparents have 4 kids and well, my daughter is an only child so for the first few days Mikayla would be struggling to be the center of attention because that's what she was used to at home, being an only child! It was quite interesting actually to watch a child fight for attention using all kinds of tactics. I'm laughing just thinking of that! What's not funny, is when we as adult "kids" of Father God, still wrestle with that "center of attention" complex and use all sorts of tactics that in the end hurt others, deeply!
I for one, do not want to ever hurt anyone, but the fact is, I do, I will, and probably will again, several more times as long as I'm alive! It's called "not being perfect!" I do however like to share "THE" playground. I've always been for the "underdog" for lack of a better term. I've found at times that kicks me in teeth, but the bottom line is, I want people to integrate "their" playground into "my" playground and see THE playground!! My heart for building community has been developed over the years. It started when I was a little girl. As a child, I was part of a church that was very judgmental. In fact, if you did something wrong, you were used as the "example" from the pulpit of what not to do. Even if you weren't used as the example, you were shunned by the "leadership" if you weren't living up to their expectations. I saw many people walk away from God, leave the church building, and ultimately leave community!! It hit my life like an arrow as well, because we were one of those families that walked away! That's why now, when I see a family or someone leave a "church" family I run after them! In my previous 2 churches, when people left, I literally looked them up, one by one, and went after them! No one knew I did that! I didn't advertise it all over the place. You may ask, why did I do that? The answer is simply because I wanted to be sure they had community!! Listen, I don't care when someone chooses a different church home, I just want to know they are building community with others and not isolating! Jesus left the flock to go after the one! It is imperative we are part of community! Being part of community does present its challenges because there are times when "I" gets in the way of "We." There is a "Who is the greatest among us" complex and we miss that Jesus is playing with the kids, as Erica shared. "We" is always more powerful than "I."
We need live in the awareness that Jesus playing on our playground is personal, and intimate, and reserved for us as an individual! We also need to live in the awareness that Jesus is playing with the other kids on their playgrounds and it will look different, and be different, and is personal and intimate to them! We need to live without comparing the playgrounds!!! There is absolutely no comparison!!! We also need to live with the awareness that just because someone elses playground looks different from ours, doesn't justify selfishness! We then need to integrate our playgrounds and play together - giving and receiving from each other! There is so much we have to offer each other as brothers and sisters in Christ!! Look, if God didn't create another fingerprint like mine, and He didn't create another fingerprint like yours, don't you think He wants us to share with each other to get the full benefit of Him? We are the body of Christ!! Some of us are hands, some of us are arms, some of us are legs, some of us are feet, some of us are mouths, etc.! We are all moving parts of ONE body, yet each part is important for the other to function. I'm reminded of the scripture that says where one can put a thousand to flight, two can put ten thousand! I don't know about you, but I'm ready for authentic multiplication in the body of Christ!
Let's play nice! Let's appreciate what each other have to offer! Let's look at the power of multiplication! The harvest is ripe, but the laborers are few! Lets link arms and break down the ministry walls that tend to separate, and co-labor together to integrate!!
See you on THE playground!
TDahl
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