You Have What it Takes - episode 211
She describes herself as courageous. Yes, I definitely saw that. I also saw beauty and radiance woven together in the most delightful way. Christelle Biiga grew up wondering if random strangers were happy. That early curiosity drove her from Cameroon to California where she has been able to take that desire, and marry it with her love of speaking. She wants to inspire and empower others. If she can do that through booking people on podcasts so that they have more visibility, then Christelle’s at the sweet spot of her passion and purpose. She wants you to know, you too, have what it takes to do what is possible.
Courageous. Loyal. Caring.
— Christelle Biiga
You Get to Choose It
Thoughts from You Have What it Takes
What if you have what it takes but you choose not to take advantage of it? Or maybe something along the way got a little skewed and you just don’t really get it. I think there is a lot of that going on out there. People stuck in a place but not realizing they are even stuck at all. So they can’t do better because they don’t even know that they need to. Once again this is where grace comes in. Sometimes it’s easy to give, and other times, not so much.
Case in point. I recently put a re-homing ad on a local neighborhood site for a dog our daughter has been fostering for several months. Now full disclosure, she was hoping to keep this dog. Someone reached out to her on a similar platform, looking for a home for his dog as he was being transferred to a new military post and couldn’t take the dog Gizmo with him. She said yes. She was not living with us at the time but within a few weeks was back at the ‘ol homestead. We did not want another dog but soon found him to be a sweet pup and did our best to welcome him into the fold for what we planned to be a short duration.
Back to what happened next. Hired for a full-time residential summer camp, our daughter really needed to relinquish the dog. We were not in a position to take on a second dog and really wanted him to be matched with a good home. One where he could star in his own story, and not be relegated to occasional cameo appearances. So I posted on the neighborhood site hoping for the best.
Most people were kind and understanding but one individual was anything but, and of course that’s where I focused. “Since you failed to raise a reasonable Daughter, Gizmo is now your responsibility. DEAL WITH IT!” I have to say I was quite surprised most especially since the individual did not know us or the many complexities that make up this current situation. Maybe it wouldn’t have made any difference though. And I think that’s some of what I’m trying to convey. We usually do not have all the info that makes up the circumstance or even what’s going on with the people involved. Since we don’t typically know, that’s where the beauty of grace comes in.
After the surprise of his comments on the neighborhood site, I knew I had to say something. Part of my natural reaction was to defend myself, to express my anger at his lack, to come up with a snarky zinger. I let those all go. I knew they would feel good for a nano-second, and then not so much. Shaun encouraged me to ignore or to block the individual but being a Protective Challenger #8 on the Enneagram, I simply could not. I ended up with, “Thanks for your understanding.” I felt it was an unexpected response and might give some food for thought as clearly he was not being understanding at all. Wishful thinking with a hint of snark that might go unnoticed. I’m no angel after all. As for his reaction I was hoping for, “What?! That doesn’t make any sense.”
My friends, this is where grace comes in. You get to choose to give it. Since you can’t possibly know what others are going through, the kindest thing to do is to have faith they are doing the best they can, the very best they know how to do. It may not be enough, or even what you want, but leave it at that. And offer grace. That’s the whole thing about it. It isn’t deserved. It isn’t earned. It is simply given. I for one want to extend it, and I also want to receive it.
I forgive this guy who made this insensitive comment because that’s grace. Not that he asked for it. Funny, a couple of people commented on his comment and mine, and now they mysteriously disappeared from the chat. I like to think he took them down because he thought twice about how he came across. Maybe he understood that he didn’t understand. Yes, I will sit there. He received grace, and we are both the better for it.
Are you able to favor someone who may not deserve it? That’s grace, and it’s a gift.
— RCN
Layla and her foster brother, Gizmo
