Capacity
Dictionary.com definition: n. “the ability to receive or contain”
What is wise, and within your power and ability to do?
Twenty years ago a wise man gently asked me if I had trouble saying No. I hemmed and hawed and stammered an equivocal No. After a pregnant pause we burst out laughing at my laboured response. I was busted! He went on to say that my Yes was only as good as my No. In other words, if I say Yes to everything, I will soon be good for nothing. It was a molten moment, a word spoken in season that remains potent to this day.
Some individuals are gifted with a huge capacity to dream big and accomplish much. They display those tendencies from a young age and always lead the charge with great vigour. If you’re not wired that way, it doesn’t help to compare yourself to them. You will come up short and likely feel deficient. I know. I’ve done it. What IS important is to know your own capacity, to find your lane and stay in it; to go at your pace, and be clear about your aptitude, skills and interests. It’s also important to check in with yourself regularly – to remember there’s a season for everything, which directly correlates with your capacity to do and be your best. When raising small children, going through a major change or significant loss, caring for others or recuperating from a setback, knowing your capacity helps you set sensible goals and have realistic expectations. Likewise, what you could do at 20, you can’t do at 45. And what you did at 45, you can’t do at 70. This can be a hard pill to swallow for those in the second half of life. The sand is shifting beneath their feet and they haven’t even taken a step. It’s a challenging season of recognizing losses and grieving them. But remember - a change in capacity doesn’t need to be negative! Though we may not have capacity for things we used to, we may have new capacity for things we never dreamed of.
Has this Covid season slowed you down? Or have you been busier than ever? Are you in need of rest and rejuvenation? Or are you raring to jump back in the game and feel more productive again?
Regardless of your season of life, one thing each of us needs is an increased capacity to receive God’s love. We know (all too well) the limits of our own ability to love and yet God’s love is without limits. It’s an extravagant well that never runs dry. Moreover, God delights to fill us with His transforming love, so dare to ask for more and get ready for the floodgates to open. Not only is it wise to ask but it’s also within our power and ability to do.
How does the word capacity strike you? Are you operating at yours? There is a danger in both over-operating and under-operating. If we over-extend ourselves, we run the risk of not doing anything well. If we’re lethargic, we fall short of our potential. Would a change in capacity require a shift in your thinking, in your choices, in your habits? Would it require saying No more often? Or would it require saying Yes? What is within your capacity to change and how badly do you want it?
“Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. ”
“ Let each one examine his own work. Then he can take pride in himself and not compare himself with someone else. ”
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ. ”