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The
Pink Room: Thoughts About Intentional Living
Chapter
19/ Accepting Me.
Part
2 (Previous post contain the previous chapters.)
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I’m
mildly obsessed with a newer Bible translation called the Voice. I find the
whole thing fantastic. It is a derivative of the word “logos,” which the team
doing the translating intentionally translated to “voice.” It is often
translated to “word.” They realized that did not include the identity of the
person speaking and felt it was more appropriate to use a word that
incorporated the personal-ness of communication.
In
The Message, another Bible version, Mt.
5:48 says: Live out your God-created identity. I really like that. I think the
two thoughts are connected. Using your innate voice and living out a
God-created identity go hand in hand.
Right
as I heard of this voice Bible, when
I went back to school to get my teaching certificate, I was able to do a single
gallery student
gallery exhibition show. There was a small open room
with nothing in it where I hung one large piece of artwork entitled “Voice.” It
was made from several small squares lining the wall for ten feet across and four
feet down.
Ken Coleman, who used to be on the Catalyst
podcasts, a leadership oriented non-profit, often said that you should operate
in your sweet spot, the place where your developed skills (resume skills)
overlap your natural gifts--the intangibles that are reinforced by those around
you. I’d like to take that one step further: look for themes in your life,
things that seem to be reinforced or people often encourage or praise in
you.
The truth is that you are unique and
your voice, spoken and revealed, is unique. There is only one you. There is a unique
message in you to reveal, I believe God has something about His personality or
character that He reveals through each of us. Our lists from above overlap—and
there is a uniquely developed, uniquely shaped, unique sounding message only
you can deliver. It could sound like this is about us, but this is really about worshiping God with your life. Even if it is like some other messages, only
some will be able to receive it through you.
There was a story I heard Dan
Allendar, a counselor, deliver at a conference where he said he was in a
terrible car accident and was asked what his name was by the EMT. He said he
could not remember, but what he could remember was that he was a teacher. When
we know without a doubt something that we are meant to do, it is as though it
is written on our hearts.
“Voice,” my art piece was mixed
media on nine inch squares. It was an independent showing at UWGB at the
student gallery. Voice became a concept to me as I explored art and outsider
art. When I returned to school to get an Art Teacher’s license I became aware
of this subtle theme coursing through all this art around us.
Even people with little or no
awareness of why they were creating something, when asked, would say these revolutionary
things about life and meaning; they’d just spew them out. Unique ideas about
life and culture, society and the way things should be or could be.
I realized that we are all given a
voice. That might be writing, music, art, business, math, it may be loud or
have no sound at all but it is something we are intended to communicate through
our life, voice, and breath. All of these are similar in that they can express
love and worship God but all are unique the person. Even if you and I have the
same gift of creating art you and I will not say the same things through that
art at least not in the same way.
It is important we use whatever we've been given; because you, your life, and your voice reveal something about God to those around you. There is a special reason you and I were created.
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I came to the conclusion that it is
critical that we all express our voice, whatever that is. No one is going to do
it for you and no one can fill your place.
