Finding Your Strengths

 

Our school district recently had students and staff take a survey to discover our strengths.  I did this a few years ago with a different program, so I already had an idea of what mine were.  What was interesting though was seeing Conner and Caitlyn's results and how they both had shared some of my strengths.  The survey gives you an ordered list of 24 strengths, but I'm just going to share our top 3.

Conner's Strengths...  Teamwork, Gratitude, Fairness

 Caitlyn's Strengths...  Creativity, Curiosity, Gratitude

My Strengths... Kindness, Spirituality, Gratitude

As you can see, in our top 3, we had one trait in common...GRATITUDE.  This was definitely a surprise to me as so often I feel in this world of entitlement and wanting my kids to be happy, I see ungratefulness rear its ugly head, and unfortunately, I'm not exempt to that either.  There are many days that I have to stop and remember all we have to be thankful for, and more importantly, THANK GOD!

 On another note, Caitlyn's greatest strength, creativity, was #7 on my list, and Conner's greatest strength, teamwork, was #8 on my list.  I found it so interesting to see how we were each similar but had our own strengths as well.  

I also thought it was funny that  Caitlyn and I had the same characteristic at the bottom of our list...self-regulation.  Yikes!

Conner has always been the kid that gets along with everyone, kids and adults alike.  His dentist just shared yesterday what a great teen he is and how she enjoyed visiting with him, so it doesn't surprise me that teamwork is his greatest strength.

Caitlyn brings joy and laughter everywhere she goes and LOVES crafting, so it makes sense that creativity and humor are at the top of her list.  Funny story, the first week of kindergarten (and my first year teaching at her school), her teacher shared that she had a problem.  Caitlyn was blocking the entrance to the bathroom, and she wouldn't let kids by unless they said the password!  We had a good laugh on that one.

 My prayer is that each one of us will use our strengths that God has created us with to serve Him better and bring glory to His name!  And I hope we will do so with a grateful heart.