My oldest son is quite the artist, especially for a 7 year old, and with that talent comes great confidence in his ability. Unfortunately, when he is in Art class, that confidence contributes to doing his own thing instead of listening to the teacher.
While I want him to have confidence, I don’t want him to miss out on getting better because he doesn’t think he needs to learn new techniques. He has a stubborn streak a mile wide that he comes by naturally from both his mother and me, which often leads to not listening to us when trying new foods or experiences. So this morning after a meltdown during lunch, a conversation about potential came about.
We had built some spaceships with legos and they were still out and on the floor of the living room. Big D asked what potential was, so I went and grabbed a handful of legos. I said,”These legos have potential to be a cool spaceship, if I choose to put them together. Potential is for nothing if we don’t act on it.”
I then told him we are like a single lego brick, we have the potential to be a part of something great, or we have the potential to get lost under the couch. To be a part of something great, we often need others to help us build on who we are. Yes we need to be who God made us to be, BUT that often takes listening to others, even when we think we have the answers.
Even as adults, we let potential get lost under the couch, because we get too busy working a job, or checking Facebook, or reading blogs (oh the irony.) I believe that we all have potential to do great things. God has given us life and gifts and talents, and I don’t believe His plan was to give us these things so that they can sit on the bench.
Ultimately, God is the master builder. We hear this from King David in Psalm 139:13-15. HE created our inmost being, HE knit us together in our mother’s womb, we ARE fearfully and wonderfully made. He builds upon our lives, so that we can be a part of greater things and sometimes He builds on our lives using others, to teach us, to guide us, to love us, to make us stronger.
So back to my lesson with D, I began to use bricks that represented some of the people that would potentially, positively influence his life, and I built a small plane. I told him, if you listen to those that teach and want to help you, you will create more awesome things, experience cooler adventures, and be a part of something greater than you could ever imagine.
As we have been Reinventing the Blackwells, potential has awakened in our lives. We are no longer going to sit by and let it pass or sit and sour. WE have chosen to allow God to build upon our lives, we are listening, and ready for the new experiences God is bringing to us.
