I can't - by Jane Butcher

I can’t draw like Deborah, I can't paint like Gill, I can't use mixed media like Sarah, I can't source things like Pam, I can't worship like Ben…


It's a wonder I can drag myself out of bed in a morning!

But, I can draw, I can paint, I can use mixed media, I can source things, I can worship; like me, and that's good enough because God made me. He gave me my skills, talents, interests, He gave them to me to use as only I can!

I wrote this poem many years ago, I hadn't been a Christian for very long but I already felt somehow inadequate when I compared myself to others.

“Oh to be a trophy of grace.”

Oh to be a trophy of grace,

To come in first in life’s long race.

Not relegated to runner up,

Slinking home with a tarnished cup.

To be held in esteem by all and sundry,

Surely a goal to be aimed for one day!

Glowing with health and blindingly good,

Reflecting the light as all trophies should.

How I'd hate it, how I'd fail,

The very thought turns my flesh pale.

Not for me such dizzy heights,

Living each day is enough of a fight!

My name won't make the glory roll,

No mention in dispatches or meritorious scroll.

But I don't care, I’ll just do my best,

I'll leave such striving for all the rest.

If someone told me to “come forth my child”,

I'd probably come fifth and drive them wild!

Still, it takes all sorts as you'll agree,

And there's room in the world for more like me.

I don't want much, my needs are few,

My family, my friends, more people like you!

So, here is one failed “trophy of grace”

Who has finally come to know her place!

There is one thing we all need to know, God made us, God loves us, we are His unique creation and the things we do and the way we do them are pleasing to His eye. Every moment we spend in His presence, in prayer, silence, reading, worshiping, praising or journaling blesses God.

Many people have shared the need for us to stop comparing ourselves to others, many more will do so in the future. Let's just for a moment imagine our lives as being a piece of a jigsaw, the last piece of a jigsaw. To complete the big picture only our shape will fit, with all its curves, bumps and sharp edges. We don't stand alone, neither do our strengths, weaknesses, gifts or talents.  We are created to take our place in the big picture, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. Without us the big picture is incomplete!