I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. -2 Timothy 4:7

One afternoon several years ago, I came upon a box of handmade cards at Costco. I snatched it off the shelf and that should have been the end of it. But I have never been one to pass up an opportunity. No matter how much sense it doesn’t make.

So, I decided I could make them myself, and that little gem at the top of the post is a creation by my very own hand. I know you’re thinking, Wow, why is she wasting all this time blogging, when with mad skills like that, a licensing agreement with Hallmark is imminent? Try not to be jealous. 

I think at some point, my six-year old must have tried to rescue it by drawing eyes on the pitiful ones that couldn’t see.

I found that long forgotten card in a drawer the other day and couldn’t stop the fit of laughter. Seriously, it’s important not to belittle yourself, but sometimes you just have to let an impulse go when you realize your strengths are found elsewhere.

And then some time after my Costco impulse, Pinterest popped up on the radar. Thanks to that little site, I have more construction paper, canvasses, glue, sparkles, paint, fabric and beads than I could possibly use in one lifetime. Most likely, they will all end up at our next community yard sale for some other poor Pinterest visionary.

Busyness, envy and impulse are a daily reality for all of us. It is so easy to be tempted down paths we are not meant to go. God didn’t create us to say, “Squirrel!” every time something beautiful and shiny distracted us from His ultimate goal for our lives.

The apostle Paul was one of the mightiest warriors for God that ever roamed the earth. Chosen by God to take the message of hope in Christ to the Gentiles, Paul was smart, determined, and more than a little passionate about his message, but he wasn’t always that way.

Initially, his mission was to make sure Christianity was destroyed. Considered a hardcore Pharisee, he worked tirelessly against Christ, until a divine encounter temporarily blinded him, and ultimately revealed the clear truth to him.

Once he was transformed by Christ, hunger, a lack of freedom, storms, and trials unimaginable to many of us, never stopped Paul from completing the mission God gave him. He persevered until the time he could say he had given it all he had.

But even though his earthly race would come to an end, Paul’s impact had a lasting, rippling effect for the kingdom of God. Countless lives were changed and continue to be changed by Christ because of this man’s faithfulness and obedience. As John MacArthur put it, “He left no unfinished symphony.”

If we allow God to be the conductor of our lives, we can accomplish amazing things for His kingdom within the set of skills and talents He gave us. We don’t have to exhaust ourselves trying to be good at everything, when we really need to ask God where He wants to use us.

Just bear in mind that if you need a card, you should go to the Hallmark store because I’m officially out of business.

Give it up sister!