meeting ourselves

It occurred to me that we really can't know ourselves without the Lord.  Of course, we're very well acquainted with ourselves.  Our self-relationship began at a young age and, for the most part, we're comfortable moving about in our skin.  As we grow up we uncover innate skills (or the lack thereof) in every area of life.  We get a lot of input and feedback from family, friends and others (like childhood bullies and neighborhood sports where you find your worth based on the order you're selected for a team).  We're taught to apply ourselves in every class and every task we're assigned and we're encouraged to believe that willpower and effort will result in success and help us define our identity.  But I suspect that each of us has a design that is uniquely our own.  The key to finding that blueprint is to first find the architect who has drawn each plan.  Rather than believing we must succeed in all we do, we learn to hone our successes along the grain that was built into our frame.  We are liberated to play that role on the planet that blends and harmonizes with others and we find that the needs of others represent the opportunities we were made for.  I don't think it can be overstated that when we find the Lord, we find ourselves.   Psalm 139:13-16 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;       you formed me in my mother's womb.    I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking!       Body and soul, I am marvelously made!       I worship in adoration—what a creation!    You know me inside and out,       you know every bone in my body;    You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,       how I was sculpted from nothing into something.    Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;       all the stages of my life were spread out before you,    The days of my life all prepared       before I'd even lived one day.   blessings, Rob Smith