True Measure

We started measuring Ethan on a doorway in the kitchen because he swears he's not growing.  It's a toss up as to which side of the proverbial family tree his apple will fall.  Guy's papa might have been 5 foot 5 back in the day, but now I can look down at his bald spot.  My brothers are both burly six footers. 

The doorway says Ethan has grown an inch and a half since July.  Ethan thinks I measured wrong.

I recently took some measurements of my very own.  I have hitched my wagon to those of a few of my motivated friends in hopes that I might get caught in their exercise-and-weight-loss tail wind.  I measured my squishy bits here and there (no, you don't need to know) and began the daily scrutiny of food and activity level (it's hard to count all those cookies, not to mention those aerobic trips to the fridge).

Then a few days ago the boys got it into their heads to measure Jonah.  They wrapped the tape around his melon while he tolerated them.  "43 inches!" they called out in shock.  "You are using the wrong end of the measuring tape."  I said, showing them the mistake. 

What a difference it makes when you measure correctly.

It got me to thinking about how we measure ourselves.  We compare our weaknesses to another's strengths, our inability to another's talent, our flaws to another's beauties.  We measure all wrong.

In an article I read by Marvin J. Ashton, I loved how he explained the scripture in First Samuel.  "When it came time to choose a king to replace King Saul, the Lord gave this criteria to his prophet Samuel: “Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; … for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” (1 Sam. 16:7.)

When the Lord measures an individual, He does not take a tape measure around the person’s head to determine his mental capacity, nor his chest to determine his manliness, but He measures the heart as an indicator of the person’s capacity and potential to bless others.  Why the heart? Because the heart is a synonym for one’s entire makeup. We often use phrases about the heart to describe the total person...The measure of our hearts is the measure of our total performance."

I hope to find a new measuring stick for myself this year.  Instead of measuring myself against others, or my idea of my ideal self, what if I measured myself against what my creator would have me be?  I imagine, just as He took the creative process in phases, He would have me create change in my life the same way; line upon line.

I won't ever find my measuring tape to say what Mary Poppins' said; "Practically Perfect in Every Way".  Maybe my true measure will simply say "Just where I ought to be
-for today."