¹²The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ . . . ¹⁴Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. ¹⁵If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁶And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? ¹⁷If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? ¹⁸But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. 

1 Corintians 12:12-17

Today I observed this principle in action. We were six today . . . five sisters and mom. We certainly don’t all have the same gifts nor do we see things the same way. One thing I barely notice is high on another sister’s radar. One sister is super detailed and asks a lot of questions. Another finds all the details to be cumbersome and annoying. One trait is not better and another worse. They are just different!

Our quest today was to find natural elements for river rock art. After several thrift store run throughs, we ended up by the Flathead River collecting river rocks of all sizes and shapes. We gathered treasures and then returned to the house to wash, sort and dry them.

In very short order, my youngest sister was laying out her design, spraying and gluing her rocks to the prepared boards. She hummed while she worked. I, on the other hand, struggled. I wanted to just lay down in the grass, stare at the sky and contemplate the complexities of the clouds. My creative juices pooled in the dark recesses of my mind, refusing to spill over into imaginative creations. I knew what I design I liked; executing the design frustrated me.

I pressed in, my sister helped me, despair did not prevail.

Maybe you too have been tempted to quit, to lay down and stare at the sky. I encourage you to press in. Acknowledge where you shine and where others excel and then see how you can help one another. Don’t worry about what you can’t do; rejoice in what you can do and then do it well!