More than we see

I think we see in each other more than we ever see in ourselves.

A few months back I drew a picture for a friend of mine. It was a farewell present as he moved on from the camp where we (and I still do) worked to a new chapter in his life. I was quite happy with how it turned out, and I did put quite a bit of work into. Since then I have constantly been requested and encouraged to do more works of art.

Here is the thing, I can't draw very well. I can doodle. I am learning to play with colors to add shading and depth, but I can't just up and draw anything I want and have it look like I want it to. I certantly am not at a point where I could make any kind of living with my skills.

Yet those I work with see me as someone with a greater level of skill in drawing than I actually possess. This can be frustrating at times, as it is hard to convince people that I actually know my limits.

Yet limits are tricky things. Watch a kid cry before they jump off a zip line platform, or a sixth grader try and climb a rope ladder, slip, hit the ground, and immediately get back up and try again, and you quickly learn that limits are not set in stone. (Don't tell anyone, but I think I have learned more from the campers than I have taught to them.)

Nearly eleven months ago, I left Grace Community Church.
Grace and Community are two concepts that I have struggled to understand, struggled to know, struggled to live, and struggled to give my whole life to.

When I was in high school I thought I didn't "need" grace, and was convinced that I didn't deserve community or at least that no one would want me in their group. Then the Lord called me on a short term missions trip to England, and I learned just how wrong my theology was.

As I prepared to come to ARCG, my understanding of Grace was being renewed in my life. And the understanding of Community was being refreshed and expanded upon. I don't fully know what Community truly means. I know that it is essential for the life of the Christian. I know that Paul's analogy of the Church as a body is deadly accurate. I know that I am constantly grateful that I don't live isolated, that I don't struggle alone, I don't have victories by myself, that my burdens and trials are not mine alone to carry.

I am grateful that others see in me more than I see in myself.