A High Valuation for You
Mom, you don’t know what you started when you groaned about having to endure personality testing at work. I made the mistake of telling Mr. Masters in Psychology, and pretty soon we were all getting Myers-Briggs scores as evening entertainment.
And Mom, just so you know –you scored a “Wonderful”. At least, that’s how we summed it up.
As for me, I was perfectly described as someone who enjoys people’s stories, which explains the inordinate amount of autobiographies that tower on the guest room shelf.
I felt it yesterday when I was trying to learn the names of 23 freshmen in my 8th period Spanish class. As they did a writing assignment, I walked around and called them by name. When I came to someone I didn’t know, I said, Tell me something about yourself, to help me remember your name.
One student loves dance.
Another student is all about horses.
As I went around the room, I felt exactly the same as when I stood in the large room with high white walls, in the National Museum of Amsterdam.
Standing a foot away from Rembrandt’s.
That was the day I got scolded for returning to the meeting place late. I just couldn’t stop looking.
People are art.
It may be my favorite thing about teaching –this daily discovery of who people are. Quirks. Giftedness. Sense of humor. Shiny places. I can’t stop looking.
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus…” (Ephesians 2:10 NIV)
So Myers-Briggs testing is maybe like trying to scrape the paint off the canvas and arrange it neatly back on the palette.
I read a book once about the different classes of people –lower, middle, upper. I fall in that middle level, although my car looks lower. Way lower.
And my people look upper.
I read about how rich people have special lighting in their homes to highlight their expensive artwork. And they have this valuation and legal paperwork for each piece of art. I can’t remember what that’s called, but I don’t think they make you fill it out at the garage sales where I’ve gotten some of my home décor.
Anyway, I think people need some of that special lighting and some kind of fancy paperwork.
For we are God’s workmanship.
I thought maybe you just needed to remember that today and to know that who you are means something very special to me.
This is precious, perfect, and so beautifully written, Christy. People are amazing and so beautiful. I remind myself almost every day that I look at people and see their outward appearance, but God looks at their hearts. (I think this every time I see a man with an especially overgrown beard.)
Yes, sometimes it takes work to look past appearance and see how valuable the soul is to the Lord.
Thanks for the reminder, Christy, that we are God’s workmanship; His masterpiece!