Barnabus was beyond being an otter

A couple weeks ago I blogged about the name God has for us.  I shared I was Interesting, had kids and morphed sadly into Grumpy and was going to have a lovely metamorphasis into Joyful.  And then life happened.

I've realized that Joyful is too ambitious.  I need to claim a name that God has for me that's easier to relax into.  Joy in Christ is really tricky.  It's not the happiness that I feel like I should feel--it's deeper than a feeling.  It's a fruit of the Spirit of God that flows within us, regardless of feeling.  Yeah.  I get that on paper, but in the midst of a boy throwing a tantrum because he doesn't want to brush his teeth, it eludes me.

So, instead I'm claiming Loved.  I'm always Loved.  I can rest in that while I'm calmly holding a toothbrush or feeling scared with what tomorrow may bring.  Regardless of what's going on around me or how I feel, I'm Loved because of the promise in John 3:16.

I love personality tests but recently I did a training on them and it sent me into a funk.  For some odd reason, I decided a certain personality was my identity even though in motherhood I have used other elements of my personality more.  How odd that I got so wrapped up in labels on a silly personality inventory.

But it was more than that.  One of the girls assumed I was the Beaver, the detail-oriented task oriented person, which my husband and dad are.  The reality is that in MOPs, those qualities are needed in me and I've developed that part of me so that I can do my job well.  That's a good thing.  Instead of seeing that, I got weirdly offended that someone I feel close to doesn't know the "real" me--the Otter who is fun and the life of the party. 

To sum up, yesterday the preacher preached about Barnabus, one of my fave guys in the bible.  Regardless of what animal I am, at my heart, I'm a Barnabus.  Someone whose heart sees the need to love others and include them in whatever party I'm a part of. 

Aaron and I discussed what animal Barnabus was.  I assumed he was an Otter.  Aaron was sure he was a Beaver.  That made me smile.  The golden nugget to take away from this is that God created us all in different way, but we're all expected to further his kingdom.  That's freeing to me.