Spend as much time around toddlers as I have and you’ll eventually find yourself facing a gizmo called the shape sorter. Our family owned one and so does every church nursery in which I’ve volunteered.
While this toy has evolved over the years, the one with which I’m most familiar comes from the Tupperware company. The half-red, half-blue “ball” covered with openings comes with ten yellow plastic shapes that correspond to each hole. Some tots approach the toy with determination and patience while others soon quit the struggle, melting into a puddle of frustration and tears. I’ve sat with kids who enjoyed the challenge as well as a few who angrily banged a shape against the wrong hole, thinking they could force it to fit!
People resemble those yellow shapes. Whether circles, rectangles, or pie-shaped, there is a place where each of us fits in life.
But finding that place begins with recognizing and accepting who we are. A soft-spoken, kind-hearted soul wouldn’t make a good marine sergeant and a boisterous, life-of-the party character would not enjoy working as a librarian or lab technician. Trying to be someone different than our Creator intended will result only in disappointment and frustration. A square peg will never fit in a round hole. God made each of us to thrive in our appropriate spheres.
The danger comes in comparing ourselves with others, and trying to conform to a shape not our own. We may covet another’s gifts, believing our personalities and aptitudes could never lead to fulfillment. Media sources suggest that happiness is reserved for the select few–those endowed with beauty, brains or billions. It’s a lie.
Paul warns against drawing such comparisons in I Corinthians 12, where he mentions the importance of each part of Christ’s body.
If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?
Like those little yellow toys, we each have a unique shape–physically, mentally and emotionally. One person possesses extreme patience while another exhibits great boldness. Your neighbor may be a math whiz while you enjoy artistic endeavors. Anyone looking at us from the outside could recognize our different gifts. But the key is for us to recognize those attributes personally, embrace them, then step out and live life authentically, without judging ourselves or comparing ourselves with others.
True freedom comes when acknowledge and appreciate who God made us to be. Once that happens we can truly love our neighbor as ourselves. The world is eagerly waiting for us to find our niche and fill it joyfully!
Once again, very helpful and creative analogies, Carrie – thank you!