Who I Am

I had an interesting conversation with my co-workers today. It happened first thing this morning before any of us had really gotten into the work routine. For some reason, several people had gathered around my desk and as we chatted I posed a question to them that had popped into my head recently as I sat waiting in traffic. "If you could have three talents or abilities that you currently do not possess, what would they be?" Since I had already thought about this, they insisted that I share first.

My answer was easy.

1. I'd have a really good singing voice.
2. I'd be great at math.
3. I'd be athletic.

There was a lot of nodding of heads and and "hmming" and "uh-huhing" as they thought about that. And then they began to share the abilities they would choose for themselves. Some were similar; some were very different. And one friend had a very hard time coming up with anything at all.

I thought about this little exercise later in the day. Obviously, the qualities that I wished for where things that I believed to be absent in my life; talents that just might make my life better in one way or another. And then I thought about my friend who was already pretty much content with who she is. I know her answer was sincere and I really admire that about her.

So, to try to balance out my seeming discontent with who I am, I decided to write down three qualities that I do possess that I like about myself. So here they are in no particular order:

1. I have a good sense of humor.
2. I have a heart that is tender toward others and toward God.
3. I have integrity in how I live my life.

These abilitites may not be as flashy as impressing people with my fantastic singing voice or athletic prowess, but they are qualities that God chose to gift me with. So I'm choosing to follow my friend's example and focus on being happy with who I am.