The other day my girls & I were watching the movie, Tinkerbell, & as I watched I began to see a far deeper message than I'm sure the writers intended....
Quick Synopsis: A sweet little fairy named Tinkerbell is created with the gift of "Tinkering". She becomes discontented with her gift & envious of the talents of other fairies once she realizes that other fairies get to go to the "mainland." Throughout the movie Tinkerbell tries in vain to make herself into a Water Fairy, a Light Fairy, & an Animal Fairy...all because she perceives their gifts as better than hers. Her efforts create great calamity & jeopardize the overall mission of fairies being able to bring Springtime to the mainland. In the end however, Tinkerbell embraces the gift of tinkering & by using that talent is able to save Spring. The viewer realizes that all the fairies must do what they are created to do in order to complete the task of changing the seasons on the mainland.
Insight: As I said, I am sure that I took far more from this movie than the writers intended, but to me this movie is the perfect analogy to the Body of Christ. God has created each of us with various gifts & talents, each unique & made in His image...so often though we envy the gifts of others. God created so many gifts...singing, writing, serving, giving, teaching, nurturing, leading, healing, creating...the list goes on & on. He designed intricate personalities...some are meek & others bold, some are leaders & others followers, some are day dreamers & other are realistic, some are adventurous & others are grounded...but each role is necessary & beneficial to the kingdom. I have spent many years wishing I could sing, when just maybe I was meant to write...Many years wanting to heal when I was designed to nurture...Many years trying to lead, when I was truly meant to submit. In the past my denial of my gifts & attempts to steal others created strife & dissension, hurt pride & feelings of failure. Just like Tinkerbell, I was ineffective & even detrimental because I could not embrace the roles God desired me to fill...I was too busy envying the gifts He had given to others. Some gifts are glamorous from afar...we live in a world that thinks "The Grass is Greener on the Other Side". The Master Craftsman is calling us to trust in His design. Our Father is calling His children to be grateful for the Gifts He has given. The One who is Sovereign is asking for Faith that He has created Who we are for Where we are...I am talking about more than begrudgingly accepting your gifts, but for us to truly Embrace & Utilize them!
Some time ago I, like Tinkerbell, began to embrace Who I am & Where I am in the Lord...I can say that God has given to me ultimate peace & fulfillment in those roles. I do not sing...I write (perhaps not well, but it's what I do). Profound impact or small, I share my heart with all of you because that is what He desires me to do...not because of the glory that it brings me but because it is my hope that it will bring glory to Him. I stopped trying to lead my family, but learned to submit to the headship of my husband, and by doing so I feel cherished & priceless to him. My gift is not healing, but nurturing. For so long I have wanted to heal the hurts of those in my life, when what God has called me to is to steadfastly nurture their love for Him. Very recently God has begun a work of healing in my dearest friend, perhaps in small part because I stopped trying to heal her hurts but began nurturing her seed of faith...that's my role in her life. Please hear my heart Sisters, I am not tooting my own horn, but hoping to show how the embracing of my gifts has born fruit, and how my rejection of them brought destruction or in the very least rendered me ineffective.
God designed His people as a Body, a unified system on individual parts. Just as our bodies struggle to function efficiently when a piece is missing, so too does the Body of Christ when we do not embrace our place within it. Just as the goal of the fairies was to change the seasons on the mainland, our goal is to reach our "Mainland destination" & to bring as many with us as we can. Just as Tinkerbell jeopardized that mission by refusing her gift, so do we harm the Lord's when we deny the talents He has bestowed upon us.
I pray that as we strive to be Proverbs 31 Women that we will embrace the precious gifts our Father has placed within us, & that we will utilize them for His glory...
*Romans 12:4-8 (Message Version)
4-6In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't.
6-8If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.
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