I've had a season where the Lord has let my "B's" go fallow: by this I mean those roles and responsibilities that I'm good but not great or best at. These roles usually comprise a portion of my strengths, giftings, and passions, but rarely enough to energize me or result in significant fruit for the kingdom.
For me the biggest is public speaking; I enjoy it, I see decent spiritual fruit from it, but overall it's not what I'm best at and if I'm honest my time would be better spent on other things. Thankfully the Lord provided four student interns who are in need of development, and have taken on much of the speaking responsibilities this Fall.
In the past I've noticed I can respond negatively to these kind of seasons by:
- Fighting for control over these roles and throwing more of my resources at these "B's," which only leaves me tired and eventually burned-out.
- Preventing the development of others by holding on to these roles when it's clear the Lord wants to see others around me grow in these things.
The fruit that I have seen in this season in allowing these "B's" to go fallow has been:
- Suddenly having more time and energy to spend on that which I'm best at: this has involved not only "pouring out" types of activities but also time for "pouring in" types of activities such as reading and meeting with people that encourage my development.
- Allowing those around me to develop their capacity in areas where I've already maxed out so to speak. Our interns are all considering full-time ministry, and public speaking capability is a must. I'm not only growing but I'm also facilitating the growth of others by surrendering to the Lord's process.
Have you ever had one of these seasons? Or I'm wondering how you respond to the "B's" in your life. I know sometimes I cannot avoid spending time on them, but I have also seen times when I could have been more proactive in allowing them to go fallow for the sake of developing my strengths and those around me.
photo courtesy of pandiyan