The Gap and the Gain

Weekly Recap

Happy Wednesday!

(Whoops, wrote this on Tuesday and spaced on sending again… I think I need to automate this LOL)

This week flew by.

Extremely sobering too; we had dear friends of ours move to TN after 16 years here, and we’ll miss them so incredibly much.

Then, Learjet 60 has been remarkably shaking for me.

I don’t know if it was just listening to the audio as they radioed mayday or what caused it to shake me so much.

Life is a gift, and we don’t know how long we have.

And what’s really been on my mind is realizing how much we tell people we love them/are proud of them when they are leaving far away or after they die.

What would it look like and what could it do to this world if we spent more time on encouraging those around us every day while they are here with us?

I just wonder how powerful that would be!

The Gap and the Gain

So last week I harped on objectivity during the pursuit of identity.

This week, let’s talk about timeline.

Ok, so there is who we were, who we are, and who we’re meant to be.

Who we were is similar to what I talk about in Measure Backward, it’s the kid who plays violin the best he knows how, all screechy and stuff… but then imagine who he’ll be in 25 years at 30 years old if he keeps practicing and playing.

The gap and the gain.

See, a year ago that kid was way less capable, probably playing twinkle-twinkle-little-star and now is playing a more advanced (he’s five, so it was pretty simple and basic to you and me, sure) song for the performance.

His progression is the gain, measuring backward.

In 25 years, he’ll be measuring backward again and that gain at 5yo will be WAY smaller compared to his bigger gains now.

That point in time at which we take measurement is who we are.

But as you stand there, you also see the gap - in front of you, the distance between now and then, of where you want to get to.

This is the measurement that crushes most dreams.

I’ve been there so many times.

I can see all I learned in the past but I also see I’m not where I wanted to be, or still want to be.

So why even try anymore?

But that’s the thing - we have to keep going, because the gain WILL keep growing as we keep moving forward.

The gap, and the gain.

We see it by measuring where we’ve been to where we are (gain) and where we are to where we want to be (gap).

That’s progression.

This is key to our discussion about identity, because what we’re going to unpack in the coming weeks is how important it is to embrace maturing (growing, moving along that timeline) as we grow up in our identity.

Now, quickly (to be unpacked later) when I say “who we are” there are two parts there.

(1) Who we are in terms of our growth, ability, capacity, etc.
(2) Who we are by name.

Here is why I love the Bible - it lays all this out better than anyone else could.

Paul calls (1) Stature, and (2) New Creature.

I’m really excited to unpack this dual dynamic of “who we are”.

But let’s wrap up with timeline here for today…

It is paramount to understand who we are at the core, and to understand both the strengths AND weaknesses that come with that.

As we look at both, we see the opportunity to improve, to grow and mature.

This is why I love the self-assessments like the ones I list on dkcoleman.com/about

They help us see what we’re naturally suited for, and what we’re weaker in.

The detrimental next step is if we say “oh yeah, that’s not what I’m best at” and leave it on the side.

We have to take each weakness and apply ourselves to learn and grow in those areas (I know I’m weak in patience, so guess what I know I have to work hardest at… it helps being aware)

And for the strengths, well yeah, we’re unpacking that next - we need to DOUBLE DOWN on these and walk in who we were uniquely designed to be.

Just remember - it’s a progression.

Anyone who sells you instant transformation or success is a liar.

Life is a journey, one that takes time, one that has pain and sorrow mixed with joy and laughter.

It’s a progression.

The gap and the gain

Live purpose-filled and relationship rich!

-DC