By Andrea Goebel
God’s Way
“Honey, it’s time to cut up the apples,” my husband jokes as he steps around our kitchen island to make room for me to work.
It’s become a running joke between us that on Sunday mornings, after he cooks a giant breakfast complete with meat, eggs and bread, I peel and slice apples to go with it.
My husband loves to cook large portions, so Sunday breakfasts serve a double delight in providing a weekend treat and feeding our family during the week ahead. It’s something the kids and I look forward to.
However, there have been times when I didn’t feel comfortable with this shift in roles. I felt like the kitchen was my workspace, and it was my responsibility to prepare food for our family. I thought I needed to contribute, too.
So, one morning, I offered to cut up apples. As I scurried around the kitchen, our littlest one woke up, and I had to abandon any plans I had of helping my husband to attend to the baby’s needs. And my husband ended up doing the work I had set out to do.
I’ve noticed I have this habit of helping when I don’t need to in multiple relationships in my life, whether it’s with coworkers, friends or even my children. One morning, it clicked with me that I should just let my husband cook Sunday breakfast without my attempted help, and the phrase “stay in your lane” came to my mind.
God gives us all a purpose, he calls us each to a unique role, and he blesses us with individual gifts. We can be grateful for what we have and use what he gives us in the places he calls us.
My husband is a great cook, and he loves to help our family. I can appreciate those two qualities the same way I can appreciate the gifts God gives me.
1 Corinthians 12 reminds us of these gifts from God: “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit” (4); and “to each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit” (7).
God gives us different gifts so we can work together to build up his Church: “As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ” (12).
I am learning to embrace the gifts God has given me. I still have moments when I step out of my lane, but I recognize them now. In those moments, I lean in to God’s voice, and I strive to follow where he leads me next.