For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
Recently on my annual lighthouse trip with my dad, we added in a stop to the Wright Brothers National Memorial. There were a few parts that made this stop memorable. One was the impact of the quotes alongside the pictures explaining the order of how the brothers got to the end result of flying! It was titled Don’t Give Up and read:
In late August 1901, Wilbur and Orville return to Dayton. They’re discouraged by the glider’s poor performance at Kitty Hawk and wonder if human flight is just a dream. But, they learn critically important lessons even from their disappointments- a key element of their engineering process and success. “I confess that in 1901 I said to my brother Orville that men would not fly for 50 years.” -Wilbur to the Aero Club de France, Paris, 1908
I found this quite comforting! We could be so close to a big breakthrough or a real eureka moment and give up because we get discouraged. It may look different for each of us but it gives me a glimpse of how God sees us. He knows the gifts he has given us and He knows what we can do with them.
As I rounded the corner, a replica of the Wright Flyer (plane) was in the middle of the room. As I was studying the Flyer, I must have made a puzzled face because the museum worker asked, “Do you have a question? You look like you are curious about something.” I explained that it looked like the plane had bicycle chains on it. She explained that the Wright brothers worked at a bicycle shop and they used what they knew. They also used pipe parts from the bikes to run the chains through. I told her that I had to admit that I felt a little dumb seeing how much they accomplished with those simple parts.This kind woman said “Well, wait a minute. These brothers were amazing, but for many years they had meals prepared for them and they had no family obligation since they did not marry and had no children.They were very passionate and dedicated to their work, but they even admitted they did nothing else.”
It was as if God spoke right through that woman to remind me of the danger of comparison. As women, it seems especially dangerous. We were never meant to base our worth on those around us. We were meant to base our worth on the Creator who made us, our God that very specifically, very passionately knit us together with a purpose.
It is funny how when my kids do this comparison game, I tell them, “get in your lane” and they know what I mean! Yet, as adults we also need that reminder! So it is great to value the accomplishments of others, and encourage those around us learning to fly. We just need to make sure it doesn’t pull us into a comparison that we were never intended to make.
