lesson 1 - part 2

SHAPE (Cont.)

SHAPE: APPLYING YOUR ABILITIES

 

Your abilities are the natural talents you were born with.

Some people have a natural ability with words. Other people have natural athletic abilities, excelling in physical coordination. Still others are good at mathematics or music or mechanics and many others.

You have dozens, probably hundreds, of untapped, unrecognized, and unused abilities that are lying dormant inside you.

Many studies have revealed that the average person possesses from 500 to 700 different skills and abilities-far more than you realize.

For instance, your brain can store 100 trillion facts. Your mind can handle 15,000 decisions a second, as is the case when your digestive system is working. Your nose can smell up to 10,000 different odors. Your touch can detect an item 1/25,000th of an inch thick, and your tongue can taste one part of quinine in 2 million parts of water.

 

What are your abilities?

Have you discovered your hidden abilities? The recognition of one’s ability makes us a wise person. To use these abilities to serve others makes us even wiser.

You are the only person on earth who can use your abilities. No one else can play your role, because they don't have the same, unique shape that you possess. You should seriously examine what you are good at doing and what you're not good at.

 

SHAPE: USING YOUR PERSONALITY

We don't realize how truly unique each of us is. DNA molecules can unite in an infinite number of ways. Your uniqueness is a scientific fact of life. It is obvious that God loves variety. Just look around! Look at your seatmates and classmates. He created each of us with a unique combination of personality traits.

Your personality will affect how and where you use your spiritual gifts and abilities.

Imitating someone else's personality never works. You don't have their personality.

You can learn from the examples of others, but you must filter what you learn through your own shape.

 

Aside from your physical appearance, what makes you different from others?

What makes your personality unique?

 

BE WISE. You have a personality that you alone possess. You are designed for a special purpose.

 

SHAPE: EMPLOYING YOUR EXPERIENCES

 

You have been shaped by your experiences in life, most of which were beyond your control.

 

Examine at least six kinds of experiences from your past:

  • Family experiences: What did you learn growing up in your family?

  • Educational experiences: What’s your unforgettable experiences in school?

  • Spiritual experiences: What have been your most meaningful times with God?

  • BF/GF experiences: Have you been in love?

  • Friend experiences: What are your crazy experiences with your friends which you will cherish for the rest of your life?

  • Painful experiences: What problems, hurts, thorns, and trials have you learned from?

 

"Experience is not what happens to you. It is what you do with what happens to you."  - ALDOUS HUXLEY, the novelist.

What will you do with what you've been through? Don't waste your pain; use it to help others.

 

BE WISE. SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES. LEARN FROM YOUR EXPERIENCES. LET OTHERS LEARN FROM IT TOO.

REMEMBER: The lesson about the SHAPE is to prepare yourself for SERVICE.

You will be most effective when you use your spiritual gifts and abilities in the area of your heart's desire, and in a way that best expresses your personality and experiences. The better the fit, the more successful you will be.

 

VALUE WHAT IS YOURS

The owner of a small business, a friend of the poet Olavo Bilac, met him on the street and asked him, “Mr. Bilac, I need to sell my small farm—the one you know so well.  Could you please write an announcement for me for the paper?” 

Bilac wrote:

 

FOR SALE 

A beautiful property where birds sing at dawn in extensive woodland—bisected by the brilliant and sparkling waters of a large stream.

The house is bathed by the rising sun. It offers tranquil shade in the evenings on the veranda. Sometime later, the poet met his friend and asked whether he had sold the property; to which, he replied: “I have changed my mind.  When I read what you had written, I realized the treasure that was mine.” 

Sometimes we underestimate the good things we have, chasing after the mirages of false treasures.  We often see people letting go of their children, their families, their spouses, their friends, their profession, and their knowledge—accumulated over many years, their good health, the good things in life.   They throw out the window what God has given them so freely, things which were nourished with so much care and effort. Look around!  Appreciate what you have: your home, your loved ones, friends on whom you can really count, the knowledge you have gained, your good health, and all the beautiful things of life that are truly your most precious treasures.

            We can no longer shower kindness on those we love after they have died.  It is useless to want to re-do the work that we may have done negligently. It is best to appreciate and do things well now.

            We are all imperfect.  Always praise and value your family.  Do all you can to make it even better.

Always praise and value your work and companions.  See what you can do to improve your environment.  Instead of isolating yourself because of weakness or failure, seek to invest in true and constructive friendship in your life.