shani4jc

I live in Louisiana and right now, we are experiencing some winter weather that we are really not accustomed to.  Temperatures have dropped dramatically and we are getting bouts of snow flurries mixed with a lot of sleet.  Schools were cancelled yesterday for both today and tomorrow, and many businesses have shut down completely or, at the very least, have closed early.  Every news station is warning us to stay inside and not get out on the roads.  The winter storm has dominated most conversations since early yesterday morning.  Now, I know our neighbors in the north are totally cracking up at us.  And with good reason…weather predictions had the temperature dropping below 30 degrees and snowfall to be around 1-2 inches and we are ready to shut down the state. They have much worse on a normal basis and continue on with life as normal.  They handle winter storms much like we handle hurricanes…been there, done that!  We’ve experienced hurricanes before on numerous occasions, so we know how to plan for them.  Our states and cities have “hurricane plans” in place to help us maneuver through those storms.  Winter storms, however, are a rarity around these parts, so we’re not equipped to handle them like our northern friends.  We don’t have the proper clothing for weather dropping into the 20s…we’re normally barely able to wear a long-sleeved shirt without getting warm in the winter..  We don’t have chains for our tires to help with snow and ice.  We don’t put have stockpiles of firewood, even if we do have a fireplace because we don’t get to use them too often.  In fact, I can remember turning my air conditioner up to get my house cold enough to have a fire in my fireplace on many Christmas Eves simply because I wanted Christmas pictures of my kids in front of a fire.  We don’t necessarily have a stockpile of water and food in the winter like we do during Hurricane season simply because our weather doesn’t normally call for it.  Basically, we think this winter storm is a big deal because we’re not equipped to handle it!  In much the same way, we can often find ourselves in a panic when we are trying to do something we are not equipped to do.  We may decide we want to do the same tasks as someone else because they look fun or we feel they’re more important than the tasks we’re doing, but we may find ourselves in over our head because they are not the tasks God called us to do.  God has designed each of us with very specific plans for us.  He knows exactly what He wants us to accomplish and He has created us uniquely to be able to do what He wants us to do.  He has equipped us with a plan and a purpose…nothing about us is an accident.  He has, in His divine wisdom, created us with specific personalities, specific strengths, specific weaknesses, and specific gifts/talents.  He did not call us to do the work of someone else; therefore, He has not equipped us to do their work.  He has called us to do our very own works…designed by God just for us. Remembering that He has created us with a very unique and specific purpose can help us to be grateful for the tasks we’ve been given instead of trying to do the things that we are not even equipped to handle.

“There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.  There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.  And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.”  1 Corinthians 12: 4-6

Equipped by God