We’ve all been trapped in a meeting with a Carl.  Loud.  Speaking over everyone else.  The holder of every worthwhile idea.

Obviously, my first experience was with someone named Carl, a fellow student.  Maybe your Carl is actually a Carla because Carl comes in many guises. Carl might be an aunt who monopolizes every conversation.  Or a boss who dismisses the ideas of others as impossible or not how we do it. One factor remains the same, no one but no one else can have a worthwhile idea.  Carl contributes to every conversation and squashes it flat.

When you have a great idea or enthusiasm for a topic, it can be brutally difficult not to be a Carl. Especially when you are eager to help. You want to fill everyone with the same energy that has filled you.  The cause is urgent.  You want everyone to see that.

God knows that.  God knows that when we are filled with the Spirit we want to share it, sometimes more forcefully than is polite.  But that is why God gifts us with more than the Spirit.  We are also given self-discipline and love.  Together, that love can encourage us to draw out others who  may be timid and less confident to speak out.  What is your idea?  Have you observed something that might be helpful?

The power of the spirit enables us to bring change.  Love and self-discipline impact how we do it.  Three gifts braided together can truly be a force to move mountains.

–SueBE