January 8, 2007
By Cara Davis

I like to tell people I have a minor in art. It sounds so, well, artistic. The truth is I have a minor in communication design, a fancy way of saying desktop publishing. Have a newsletter, brochure or business card you need laid out? I’m your gal.

 

While this skill is attainable for anyone with a word processing program on their computer, I like to think of myself as a designer. After all, those classes cost more than $300 a credit hour, so my skills had better be superior.

 

My penchant for this type of design landed me an important, but nonessential, ministry at my local church: creating the weekly bulletin. A combination of church announcements, pictures from church events (thanks to my husband Jeff’s “photography” ministry) and a static listing of service times, the bulletin is a nice complement to the Sunday morning churchgoing experience. But how it looks is probably less important than the work of the faithful church member who makes sure the toilets are squeaky clean each week.

 

Recently, I picked up not-so-subtle hints from the church staff that maybe the bulletin was due for some freshening up, design-wise. I, of course, took this as a personal attack, as I always seem to do when someone suggests something I do could be done better. Sure, my original genius design for the bulletin was more than two years old, but it worked, didn’t it? Why improve upon perfection?

 

My second reaction to feeling threatened is always overachievement.  Somebody wants some changes? I’ll give ’em changes.

 

So I spent several hours last week working until the wee hours of the morning on a redesign.  I call it “The Great Redesign of 2006.” (I’m sure it will be duly noted in the annals of our local church history.)

 

I was slightly nervous for the initial unveiling, but throughout the morning, several people started to comment how much they enjoyed the look and feel of the redesign. My chest began to swell. As Jeff and I were leaving church, the guys in the audio/visual booth yelled over to us, lifting the bulletin high in the air and giving me a thumbs-up. Ah—the pinnacle of success—I had been acknowledged by the “cool” people.

 

When we got to the car, I nudged Jeff. “See! They like me—I mean ... it.” Boy, it could not have been any clearer. The balloon that was my head burst, and my not-so-subconscious motivations were exposed.

 

Too often I equate what I do with who I am. I place my personal value on how well I perform. I find my identity in my abilities—instead of the One who works through me to accomplish them. That’s why when things go wrong, I take them personally. That’s why when things go well, I like to take the credit. But credit doesn’t belong to me.

 

"I have been bought with a price; I am not my own; I belong to God," according to 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. The Scripture continues, “Therefore honor God with your bodies”—to which I think it would be appropriate to add: “and your talents and abilities.”

 

It’s a hard lesson to learn. And I’m sure it’s one I’ll have to relearn every few days. That’s OK. It’s about time for a new year, a season ripe for self-examination. Perhaps these Scriptures will help me as I approach my work and ministry with a new perspective: “God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let those who boast boast in the Lord’” (1 Corinthians 1:28-31, TNIV).

 

ninetyandnine.com

 

© 2007, Cara Davis

 

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Cara Davis is an editor in Apopka, FL, and the author of Cheap Ways to Tie the Knot (www.cheapwaysto.com).