Lord Send Someone Else

By Julie Busteed

About five or six years ago I remember having a conversation with my husband, Stephen about our gifts; Stephen is gifted in lots of ways, or so he thinks, no seriously he is and uses many of these for God.   I on the other hand felt I had no gifts, at all, let alone use one for God.   Awh I hear you say……..

How wrong was I…..

I have always been creative and enjoy crafting anything and everything, but to me this was not a gift this was just something I did.  Isn’t God so amazing that he took what I loved and opened a door for me to use it for his Glory?  

I remember so well having a very brave conversation with Tori, on the floor, in the kitchen at the old Dunnes Stores building (Tori is a little bit sophisticated now, she takes you for coffee to have these conversations).  Tori mentioned to me, in her most persuasive manner about leading a Life Group. Creations was born, there and then.  I still get goose bumps thinking about how God just came right down into the middle of that room and gave me the courage to say, “Yes I so want to do this”. 

I have always felt like I was a Moses, “send someone else Lord”!!

Exodus: 4  10But Moses pleaded with the LORD, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.”
11Then the LORD asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the LORD? 12Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”
13But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else.”

That’s me!!!!!!!  I am sure some of you recognise yourself in that passage also.

I was happy to sit in the background and not be seen or heard and just quietly get on with life.

I have in the past spent my life living in the shadow of my husband, but no more.  God has an amazing plan for me, yes me.  He wants to have a relationship with me, yes, wee me.  Not Stephen and his wife or the mother of his children but me, Julie the person he created me to be.  He gave me the gift of “craftiness," to share with others and bring Glory to him, and I love Him so much for that, and I am so thankful for this gift and how much I have been able to use it in such a short time.

You too can use your God given gift….

Romans 12  The Message
12 ^1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

When I have had a stressful day or just need to settled my head there is nothing more relaxing for me to do than just sit at the table in my kitchen, looking out at the beautiful view from the window which God has blessed me with (that’s another story for another day) and make unique jewellery. Having created something beautiful that someone else might just love gives me so much pleasure.

“Creations”, is just like that, full of ladies who share the same interest or just want to come along to learn a new skill and get to know people.  We share our skills, stories, funny and Godly and just enjoy each other’s company.  God knows me so well to get me involved in this group of ladies.

You see that is just it, God does know me, and he knew all about what I had to give and created a place for me to do it.  He can and will create that place for you. 

So go on, step out of that boat, test the water.  Your gift is unique and God given, he will help and prepare you in every way for whatever he has for you to do.

He did it for me.

I was recently involved in a Vinyard Compassion event teaching ladies to make jewellery….nothing spectacular but they made beautiful angel key rings.   As I was sitting talking to one of these ladies assisting her whilst she made a key ring, she said to me, “you have been such a blessing to us, sharing all your skills and talents and I want to thank you”.  You could have knocked me over with a feather, I felt so overwhelmed by this that I could feel myself filling up with tears, because here I was all the time thinking how blessed I was using my gift that I never stopped to think these ladies saw me as a blessing to them. 

So if you are reading this thinking I have nothing to give, think again……….”God knows the plans he has for you”.

Psst..."Creations Arts and Crafts" group will begin again in the autumn...keep an eye on the CCV website for details. ;)