How to See The Gift In Your Particular Temperament
I do this thing, maybe it’s trendy right now, but I’ve done it a long time. I like to choose one word as a theme for the year. It’s based on what I think God is doing in my life and how I can be intentional about that one thing.
My word for 2022 is “connect.” After a couple lonely, disconnected pandemic years I realized my heart and soul need connection–to God, others and even to myself.
So, when I discovered that my church was hosting a moms retreat with the theme “joyful connections,” I felt extra confirmation that I should go.
After I arrived and settled into my room, I met my roommate for the weekend. She’s a lovely, outgoing, vibrant lady. My typical insecurities popped up such as, “Will she like me even though I’m so quiet and reserved?”
When we settled in for the night she mentioned she’d set an alarm to wake up in time for the morning session. She said, “Don’t worry, you won’t wake me up if you get up before me.”
A wave of jealousy swept over me.
“I wish I could sleep in. I’m such a light sleeper, and I almost always wake up before my alarm, whether I’ve slept enough or not,” I thought.
Sure enough, the next morning I woke before her and any alarms. I headed downstairs to an empty common area to grab coffee. I snuggled into a comfy chair and pulled out my journal and Bible.
I read, “You will show me the way of life granting me the joy of your presence” from Psalm 16:11. I felt God’s presence meet me in the quiet of the morning, a foreshadowing of lessons to come.
God gives gifts of temperaments
Later that morning, the conference leader introduced content from a book I’d coincidentally just checked out from the library, Sacred Pathways by Gary Chapman. The book encourages readers to embrace the unique ways they interact and connect with God.
Chapman says there are nine different pathways in which we connect to God, who created us with spiritual temperaments. They are the following:
Naturalists: Loving God outdoors
Sensates: Loving God with the senses
Traditionalists: Loving God through ritual and symbol
Ascetics: Loving God in solitude and simplicity
Activists: Loving God through confrontation
Caregivers: Loving God by loving others
Enthusiasts: Loving God with mystery and celebration
Contemplatives: Loving God through adoration
Intellectuals: Loving God with the mind.
Gary Chapman
I learned that God created me uniquely to connect with Him and others specifically as a naturalist, contemplative and ascetic.
Accepting the gifts
One woman shared how she didn’t want one particular temperament she had. Her vulnerability helped me remember all the times I’d told God I didn’t want to be who He made ME to be.
I felt convicted imagining one of my children opening up a birthday gift, making a squished up disgusted face and saying, “I don’t really want this gift. I like the one you gave my sister better. Can I have hers?”
The next morning as the sun rose, it dawned on me that God gifted me with the ability to rise early to naturally suit my temperament to be quiet. As an introvert and ascetic I need time alone with God to recharge before engaging with others, and waking early is the easiest way to do this.
I now see that my early-bird tendency is a gift from God, especially as I seek to carve out time to pursue a calling to writing. Not only do I rise early, but I can also sit alone and focus for hours, and stay consistent. I used to think of these qualities only as boring, but I’m starting to see how God can use them in unique and wonderful ways.
It’s so easy to discount the things that come naturally to us. Rather than dismiss the unique ways God made us, may we see every quality, temperament, talent, and–even every weakness–as a gift from God.
As Leo Buscaglia said, “Your talent is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God.”
May we accept our own unique talents and temperaments as gifts from a good and generous God, and say “thank you!” Then, let’s share them with the world.
Meet Carrie Bradley
Carrie Bradley was born and raised a Montana ranch girl. She moved to Colorado to pursue mountain adventures and a career in writing and editing. It was there she met her husband and they made two daughters. The family of four then transplanted to the west coast of Canada. Now Carrie can say she’s a prairie-mountain-ocean lover. No matter where, she enjoys being outdoors!
In addition to now being a full-time mom and wife, she’s a part-time massage therapist, yoga and indoor cycling instructor, coach, and is writing a book called The Imperfectionist Project.
Where to find her . . .
- Websites: Coaching and Imperfectionist Project Blog
- Instagram: @carriejobradley and @myimperfectionistproject
Begin Within is a series to inspire a year-round lifestyle of gratitude that will impact not only your own life, but the lives of your neighbors as well. Gratitude is a theme we talk about often around here because it ties so closely into other missional living rhythms. Practicing gratitude reminds to keep our hearts soft and expectant and our eyes open. Therefore, the more we embrace gratitude, the easier it becomes to truly see our neighbors and where we can join what God is already doing in our neighborhoods.
If you would like to contribute to Begin Within, you can find the submission guidelines here.
Creating Ripples
If you would like to cultivate rhythms in addition to gratitude that will empower you live on mission in your neighborhood, check out Cultivating a Missional Life: A 30-Day Devotional to Gently Help You Open Your Heart, Home, and Life to Your Neighbors. This small book will help you make a big impact in your neighborhood as you learn to let missional living flow from the inside out. Get the 30-day missional living challenge free when you purchase the book.
