What is my super power... well that I am uniquely me....what a cop out right? A super power I have might be resilience. I am not entirely certain if that counts, but as most people have, I've withstood a lot of peaks and valleys in my life. All of our experiences in life make up who we are and inform our lives both consciously and subconsciously. This is why I like the say, "you cannot judge my life by the chapter you walked in on." Most people encounter others for a phase of life, but our lives are not created in a vacuum, and the history we have been through shape where we are at present, and our present informs the future.
I believe that even the knowledge of my birth story, being born six weeks early--has shaped my self-image for much of my life. Because I have always been little, but loud. As a kid I always treasured friendships, because I was an only child. I grew up being imaginative and inviting others into the games and stories I created. My parents both went back to school when I was a little girl so I was shown more than told that education was important. I've always felt like I was born into my wonderful family and given special gifts for words, stories, and writing--because God's work in the world ordained it to be so.
If I hadn't been fortunate enough to go to preschool and have parents to read to me, I may not have been in the Gifted program in elementary school. If my parents didn't show me how special school was I may not have liked it. If I wasn't an only child, maybe I wouldn't see the value of true friendships so clearly. If we hadn't moved to a new town when I was a pre-teen, I may not have gone to church and been baptized in the Presbyterian Church. If I hadn't had an amazing youth group I may not have considered ministry. If I hadn't been exposed to storytelling, I may not have explored writing, since I loved to read. If I had not started writing, I may not have been inspired to go to Hollins University. If I hadn't attended Hollins, I would not have met my spouse. If I had not met my spouse, we would not have this beautiful, charming, son. If I hadn't gone to seminary in Richmond, I may not have served the two churches I have thus far. And if I had not moved to Roanoke I may not have the opportunities that are now rising on the horizon for me.
There are definite shadowy valleys below all of the peaks I've described, but each of them has made me stronger. Whether it was a move, or a loss, an accident, or an illness, a stress or a failure-- each of them has shaped my resilience and more importantly my absolute knowledge of the need for God's unmerited grace.
Maybe instead of worrying about our own super powers, fun as that question can be, we should be thinking about God, in whom we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28)
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