Sweet Spot

So my birthday was in January, but I happened to get a birthday present the other day from my prayer angel at my old church. I think it's funny that I got a present 3ish months late, but in God's scheme, it was SO on time. Why do I say this? The book is called Cure for the Common Life: Living in Your Sweet Spot. It's by Max Lucado. It's really good. I'm only on like...page 21, but I blew through those pages as it was. In the opening, Lucado basically is telling us that we all have a "sweet spot" in our life. Something that we are naturally good at, that God gave us to utilize in our life to glorify him and help others (but mainly glorify God). So of COURSE, this got me thinking. Also with the help of Kristen Murphy (who nagged me about keeping up on my blog. haha) I decided I would unpack my mind with you all. Maybe you all can give me insight through the help of comments.

What is my sweet spot? What is the thing that makes me tick? What am I naturally good at? Max Lucado says that God has made us "you-nique" and I wonder what specifically that means for me. Well, I came across 3 things but...well you'll see. Here are my 3 things that I believe I'm naturally good at: 1) Running 2) Helping others through hard times 3) Gaining trust from others. I'll give you some background to prove this to you.

Running- I started walking at 9 months old. This is rather abnormal for children. I started moving asap and I seem to have not stopped. haha. On the playground in elementary school, I was basically the fastest kid. When we did laps for learning, the only person who got more laps than me was Sam Gibilisco. My dream when I was younger was to be "the fastest man in the world." I helped to resurrect the Cross Country team at my high school and was the #1 runner both years I was there. In college, I got a lot faster over a short period of time. After a long period of training, I can come back and still be somewhat fast. Some of my favorite memories are from high school XC and my college team. I. Love. Running (more...racing). That is a/the sweet spot for me.

Helping Others- It seems that as long as I've had friends, I've been helping them with their problems. It's lessened in college, but it has seemed that throughout life, that whenever someone has a problem, they come to me. I love it. This is totally a sweet spot for me. I can talk to them and help them through, and I normally have good advice. I don't know WHERE I get it from, but it's mostly very good advice. Why do I think that? Because the people always let me know that my suggestions helped. I really know I'm good at this. I feel comfortable in this area, and I know it's a sweet spot of mine.

Trust- I really can't explain this that much. I guess you have to know me to fully understand this sweet spot of mine. I'll give one example, but I really can't explain it better from there. The first week I was here at college, Josh Reid asked all of the kids in LGP to pick a kid they all trust. Almost instantly, most of the group said my name. When it came down to the selection, I was chosen. Trust. This all happened on the first day. I gain trust. I don't know how, I'm certainly not unhappy about it, but I do. I like it, and it is TOTALLY "sweet."

Max Lucado said that God knows what we will do in life, and he gives us these gifts, these "sweet spots" so we can perform our tasks admirably. Now, from what I've listed, I can TOTALLY see how running and selling shoes fits in the realm of my life. I have no doubt and I'd be completely happy with that (except for the never having a day off part). But what else? What can I do with the traits that God has given me? Lucado says that 1 in 4 people in the American workforce are unhappy in the jobs they are in. One fourth of employees view their job as the #1 stressor in the life. I don't want to be that guy. I wonder what God has in store for my life, what MICHAEL LEATHER is meant to do. What do YOU think? I just hope that I can show his love and awesomeness through whatever it is.

Good Night World,
Michael Leather