SQUARE PEG IN A ROUND HOLE

Have you ever felt like a square peg in a round hole? I have. I have been feverishly studying people, the Word and books on personality strengths and the truths surrounding them. The world and even those who raise and train us don't understand the fullness of who God created us to be. Because of this, we are forced to wear masks that identify with who we "should" be and allow labels to be put on us.

Why is there this stigma of "square peg in a round hole" or "I don't fit in.”? What are we fitting into anyway? Someone else's mold? Sure, we can attempt to emulate another's Christ-like characteristics but it is unhealthy for us to emulate another's personality. If I do that, I will end up being an imitation of that person, not an original me.

I remember back in school, the "cool" person was typically the one who was the loudest and around the most friends. Let me break it down for you. This was whom I tried to be like. I was probably being loud because I wanted the attention, which meant I was feeling uncomfortable and wanted to make sure I had the approval of others. I had a lot of friends but most were not deep, long-lasting relationships. I suffered from insecurity, fears, wondering where I fit in and thought I needed to be like the loudest, coolest person I could find on television.

Let's bring that into a marriage. Feelings of insecurity, wondering if I had approval from my husband, "do I look fat in these jeans?" and so forth is a deadly combination. Deadly for the flames of love. Praise God for insight and wisdom from great leaders around me!

Or thoughts on parenting...if a child is very organized and maybe doesn't like to be around people much, chances are, he or she has strengths in task oriented areas rather than people oriented and can really excel if given some inspiration. The avenues are limitless in these areas. Let's say a child is nurturing at a young age and it seems as though he or she could handle adult conversation or hear about adult problems. The child is most likely very sensitive to their surroundings and in need of security. Because of this, he or she needs to know the parent is secure yet not ready to handle adult challenges. How about a child who does not excel in math yet has great strength in English and speaking? The child may be slated to be a fantastic preacher or author! Find the strengths in our children and fan those flames!

Sure, we all search to find out who we are and probably will keep searching until we graduate into Heaven. There is a healthy way of searching, though. You see, God called us to be like Christ. Paul told us to follow Him as he followed Christ; follow his Christ-like characteristics, not his personality. Dig into Psalm 139 and read how well God knows you. If you want to find out who you are, begin to study the gospels and the life of Christ. The greatest anointing is on the real you God created you to be.

I teach a class called "Leading From Your Strengths" which is fantastic! Coupled with a computerized strengths assessment, the class really digs down to the "how" of our life and the one thing that gets in the way of great relationships. It has changed my life...literally. Jeff and I have become students of our relationship as well as spurring each other and our teams to be their best. Get a hold of a Reach Team Catalog to get signed up for the next class.

If you're a square peg, God built a square hole for you to fit right in.