What's Your Uniqueness?

Tonight we had a planning meeting of sorts at our church, attempting to figure out what direction we should take to minister to the women who attend Crosby Assembly of God.  After throwing around some ideas, we've decided to create a questionnaire/survey to circulate, hoping to find a common ground on which we can put together a plan.

Prior to the meeting I came across a writing I did back in 2010 about uniqueness.  Perhaps part of the challenge in bringing together a bunch of women is acknowledging the unique ways God has created each of them.  The secret will be challenging each one to seek God's direction in their own life, while focusing on what they have to offer to the group as a whole. 

In what ways has your church ministered to women in the past?  What insights might you have for what is needed in today's church world?  Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section!

01/23/10 Uniqueness

There has been a lot of “weather talk” happening around town this week. Everyone has been bracing for the huge snowstorm predicted by those who understand the science of forecasting. Yet here we are, halfway through the week-end, and it hasn't materialized. There has been a slight accumulation since yesterday, but nowhere near the volume of snow we were expecting.

This morning I came across an interesting article about snowflakes in the Minot Daily News. It seems way back in 1885 a Vermont farmer by the name of William A. Bentley figured out a way to combine the use of a microscope and a bellows camera to produce photographs of individual snowflakes. By 1931 he had captured 2,500 such photos and combined them into a book called “Snow Crystals”. According to the article, Mr. Bentley referred to snowflakes as “miracles of beauty”, each a masterpiece of design, with no one design ever repeated. He also claimed when a snowflake melted, the design was forever lost.

Having lived in North Dakota my entire life, I've seen many a snowflake. Just this evening, as I walked under the street lights, I looked up to see a new batch gently swirling through the air. Could it possibly be true they were all unique? More amazingly, as I thought back over the 50+ years of my lifetime, and the many piles of snow I've encountered, could it be God was still coming up with new designs? In our human mind, this would seem impossible. What I've learned over the years, however, is when we think “impossible”, it's then God comes through with possibilities beyond anything we could imagine. Luke 1:37 assures us “nothing is impossible with God”. 

My reading drifted in another direction this afternoon. I came across a Hallmark gift book I had picked up at a sidewalk sale last summer. The name of the book is “YOU! God's Brand-New Idea” with a subtitle of “Made to be Amazing”. It is a compilation of excerpts from author Max Lucado's many books. His purpose in putting the book together was to bring focus to the “unique-to-you” design God has used in creating each one of us. Much like the snowflakes, God works into each person a special masterpiece of design. As we look back over history, we see multitudes of different people and are amazed how God keeps coming up with new designs.

A passage I often come back to is Acts 17:26-28. “From one man God made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being,” What I read into these verses is, “Hey! God made me as a part of His creation. He set the time of my birth and the time of my death. He even decided where I would live”. The King James Bible uses the words “hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation”. Not only did God choose for me to live in Crosby, ND, but He even determined I would live in a little green house at 303 South Main Street. 

Somehow, if He placed me here, at this particular time in history, He must have a reason behind it. Oh, yes, He did give the reason. . .so that I would seek Him, reach out for Him and find Him. What a wonderful assurance we have in knowing He is not far from each one of us! As each of us continues to seek God and His purposes for our life, we will find we can better understand each person's uniqueness and accept it as part of God's great plan. 

Next time you find yourself feeling like “one of the crowd”, think about snowflakes. Each one is unique, and so are you. Seek God and His purpose for designing you the way He did. Look for your strengths and use them to accomplish great things for Him. Remember, when you are gone, there will never be another you. Accept God's offer to make you whiter than snow and make the most of your uniqueness. Together we can create a storm capable of changing the world.