I once took one of those intriguing inventories that helps you assess what type of person you are. There is one that categorizes you by body type – mesomorph, ectomorph, etc. If you, faithful blog-reader, are interested, I can enlighten you. Another one, more common and comprehensive, is Myers-Briggs. But the one I am thinking about categorizes you into one of four styles, each one given the name of an animal: monkey, hawk, giraffe, or beaver. They help ascertain how you relate to others in a group setting. Again, if you want to know whether you swing from tree to tree, fly above the forest, lope your way through the African plain, or cut wood with your teeth, I can hook you up!

Okay: so what am I? A hawk, of course! I reflect, observe, theorize, and gather data. I don’t like rushing into things. I’m not a fan of “projects”. “Hawks” strike me as unemotional. Change does not cause them to flip out. There are stages and hurdles necessary for the given goal. In my past, I have run from decisions and confrontations. I lean too heavily on the “beavers”, those who are task-oriented. I still think I’m not a good enough pastor. Fear of acting does describe me.

I do know that God is in all of this. He makes monkeys, hawks, giraffes and beavers of us so that we can co-exist. We can feed off each other’s strengths. Human creatures, even identical twins, have their own distinctive personalities. The water (baptismal?) that we dip our toe into may be cold as a central Florida spring; as scalding hot as the bath water; or deep and foreboding. All of God’s creatures draw their life from that water. They all harmonize their body types, DNA makeup, and molecular structures to integrate their ambitions, goals, and gifts. I pray that we may always love, listen, learn and lead each other beside the stream of living water. Equipped for ministry with God’s unconditional love.

Pastor Art