God is not concerned with your weakness; he uses your uniqueness.
As you might know, Dr. Mark and I had the opportunity to travel to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio with USA Wrestling. It was an amazing experience, something words can’t describe. It was a wonderful city; it was safe, the ocean and beaches were beautiful, and the magnitude of the venues they built for the Games (as well as the public transit system) was indescribable.
It’s even more difficult to describe the feelings we had there. In an environment like the Olympics, you are surrounded by so much greatness. We watched Helen Maroulis, one of our MaxLiving patients and Team USA Wrestlers, take on Saori Yoshida, a 14-time world champion and 3-time Olympic Gold medalist. It was a feat Helen was not “supposed” to win, but she DID, becoming the FIRST U.S. woman in history to take home a gold medal in wrestling. We watched Kyle Snyder, also a MaxLiving patient, become the youngest wrestler to take home the Gold. We watched sprinters and rowers and track and volleyball stars, and many others as they took their greatness to the world stage.
What’s so crazy is that what makes each of them special is their uniqueness. Helen had a unique wrestling style that allowed her to take on and beat a champion (plus her mantra during her matches was “Christ is in me, I am enough” over and over and over, which is incredible to hear from a Gold medal champ). But if you took Helen, with her unique strengths, build and talent, and placed her in the swimming pool, those strengths would no longer matter; in fact, they would probably be considered a weakness.
If you took Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man and an incredible force on the track, and placed him in the archery lanes, his unique gift of speed and lean muscle no longer matter, and may now be considered a weakness. This goes for any sport. Each one requires a unique set of skills, and what may be a powerful asset in one arena, may destroy you in another.
We tend to focus on our weaknesses. But I firmly believe God focuses on our uniqueness. Instead of thinking of what you CAN’T do, think of what God created you specifically TO DO. Good gracious, imagine if Helen Maroulis got down on herself for not being the world’s fastest swimmer? That would be crazy, since she is a beast on the wrestling mat. Imagine if Usain Bolt got frustrated because he wasn’t the best archer in the Olympics? He is designed to be a sprinter.
God created us each with a unique set of gifts. Some of us are called to be doctors, some are called to be accountants, some are called to be teachers and others are called to stay home with their children. Each of us are called to be champions in our own race, and it’s time that some of us learn that. Many times we look at others accomplishments or accolades and think we don’t compare. Not all of us are called to be Gold medal athletes… in fact only 46 Americans were, the other 318.9 million minus 46 of us are called to be something very different.
This is the comparison trap my friends. You’ve heard this before, “there is no win in comparison,” and it’s really spot on. You will just be left frustrated because you don’t “measure up” in someone else’s arena. Today I challenge you to embrace your calling, to run your race and run it well, no matter what arena you are called to play in! Be a champion!
In Health,
Dr. Liz & Dr. Mark