Being Who You Are

I had a student, who recently transferred into my class from California, tell me something recently that I'm all too familiar with.

"I didn't expect you to be a woman!"

As an agriculture teacher I am one of the few, but growing number of women agricultural educators in the state.

You see, traditionally the role of an agriculture teacher was reserved for men. This made sense to a lot of people as we are referred to commonly as "shop teachers" as agriculture not only encompasses the animal, plant, soil and food sciences but also carpentry and welding.

Carpentry and welding are not something that traditional female teachers taught or were wanting to teach, especially with the demanding schedule an agriculture teacher faces with being on the road a lot. You can imagine it's hard to raise a family with only a limited amount of time during the summer where we are not traveling.

Being a woman in this position I am often told that I should find a new profession, especially when children come into my life, or that a woman "shouldn't do a man's work". Statements like these kinda make you doubt the things and the work you are doing at times.

This past weekend though, during our churches annual Joie de Vivre conference, the amazing Holly Wagner stressed the importance of being who you are, and using the gifts that God has equipped you with.

Does knowing who you are and knowing your gifts completely devoid you of fear of what others say or think, or does it delete the fear of knowing that there will be many obstacles coming your way?

Of course not. 

The Bible states that there WILL be trials in our lives and that we will suffer at times, but really those moments pale in comparison to the courage our God offers to us if we worship and accept it from Him.

My problem has always been trying to toe the line between what I think people want me to be like and what I think I should be like.

I was constantly comparing myself to all of these standards that were not placed on me by my God, but by the society in which we live; the worldly opinion of the type of wife, the type of teacher and the type of woman I should be.

My amazing friend and one of the women I consider to be a big role model in how I want to live for and please God, Daphne Gaspard, preached at our women's conference on not comparing yourself to other's standards but God's.

I hadn't realized until this weekend how much I do that! Especially as an agriculture teacher. I am constantly trying to prove myself to the men in my field that I AM good enough, that I can weld, and use the cutting torch and build picnic tables with the rest of them even though they probably don't care.

I also compare myself to those of my friends who are married, have jobs and still somehow manage to keep an amazingly clean house, have delicious dinners on the table nearly every night, knit and take amazing photographs....I always wondered why I couldn't match up to that.

But the best thing is....I don't have to compare to them.

Our God, our Father, our Savior sees us as INCOMPARABLE to anyone and everyone else around us. He made each of us uniquely and gave us gifts that would benefit us alone for the assignments He has planned for us, that only we can fulfill.  

He loves each of us individually. I suppose it's like having children. If you have multiple you shouldn't love any of them less than the others but in a different way than the others because they are each individual people with their own giftings and quirks.

That's how God feels about us quirky individuals! He sees us as His sons and daughters and we are each precious to Him in our own way. He has something special planned for each and everyone of us and we have to accept the fact that we are each made differently for a different purpose.

Quick thought. The Bible states that we are made in the image of God. How amazingly diverse our Savior must be! That alone is something to worship Him for and to wonder at :)