The best lessons in life often occur at the most inconvenient of times. I received one such lesson while in the midst of preparing for the first dinner party my husband and I hosted in our new home a few months after we got married. An important lesson taught to me by a missing hammer, a misguided notion, and a shoe.
After surveying our sparsely decorated townhouse the morning of the scheduled event, I decided to embark upon a quick trip to the local craft and homegoods store to purchase a few wall dressings in an effort to create a more aesthetically pleasing environment in which to welcome our friends. After all, their houses were nicely decorated. They would expect as much from us, right?
The excursion ended up taking much longer than expected and, upon my return home, I found myself in a race against the clock to finish all the necessary preparations before our guests arrived. Eager to close the loop on the current task at hand and unable to locate the hammer, I raced to my closet and pulled out what I thought to be the next best thing, one of my high heel dress shoes. Proud of myself for my quick and resourceful thinking, I grabbed the nails and made haste to beautify the house.
A very short while later my efforts came to a screeching halt as I stared in disbelief at the fresh hole in the wall. The one created when the heel of my shoe failed to connect with the nail and instead punctured the wall. The one that came to be as a result of my misguided decision to use my shoe as a hammer. A decision that left much damage, including a bent nail and a huge scrape mark along the heel of my dress shoe, not to mention the additional stress and anxiety brought on by having to include yet another “to-do” on my already overlong dinner party preparation list.
I made a noteworthy discovery that day. Shoes are made for walking, not hammering. A discovery that taught me an important life lesson.
On this journey we call life, God has given each and every one of us unique gifts, skills, and talents. And there is much joy to be found in the journey when we employ them in the ways they were meant to be used for His glory and in service to others. Unfortunately, losing sight of that can lead us to make commitments or take on responsibilities that don’t align with our gifts. Commitments and responsibilities that can rob us of our joy, add to our burdens, and even cause damage.
In this noisy and chaotic world, many are the reasons why we lose sight of the ways in which to properly and effectively utilize our gifts. I’d like to share three of them with you now.
Pride is one. Sometimes our egos get in the way and cause us to stray off course. And we agree to take on responsibilities or tasks for no other reason than to prove our self worth. Or in an attempt to get ahead.
The second is the need for acceptance. Sometimes we’ll do whatever it takes to meet others’ expectations in an effort to gain acceptance, regardless of the cost.
A sense of obligation is yet another. Our guilt can drive us to do things we may not want or have the time or energy to accomplish, but we agree to do them anyway because we don’t want to let others down.
When we employ our gifts under circumstances such as these, more often than not we find ourselves undertaking responsibilities that aren’t a good fit for the gifts, talents, or skills we possess. We become the shoe forced to perform as a hammer.
When we commit to tasks and duties that don’t align with our talents, the task becomes more of a burden than a joy. We become resentful. And, as a result, those around us suffer. Not to mention the fact that the time, energy, and heartache we spend on these responsibilities leaves us burned out and empty. And we have nothing left to give to the activities that could lead to true joy for ourselves and others.
Once the shock wore off after my ill-fated attempt to use my shoe for a purpose other than walking, I took the time to locate the real hammer and managed to conceal the offending hole behind one of the pieces of artwork I had purchased earlier. Dinner party preparations resumed thereafter and the subsequent event went off without a hitch. And, while I was able to salvage the evening, the same could not be said for my poor shoe.
In the end, the shoe’s loss was not in vain, for it taught me an important lesson: let the hammer be a hammer and let the shoe be a shoe. In other words, don’t force yourself to take on responsibilities that don’t align with your gifts, skills, or talents as it may end up causing more harm than good.
To apply this lesson, here are three things to keep in mind before taking on a new task or commitment, especially one that might not be a good fit for the gifts, skills, and talents you possess:
- Strive to discover, explore, and develop your gifts, skills, and talents.
- Seek to understand and acknowledge your limitations.
- Pray for wisdom and discernment regarding the best course of action before making any commitments.
There is joy to be found in the journey when we employ our gifts, skills, and talents in the ways in which they were meant to be used. And a lot less damage.
