My Mountain of Woo

Yesterday in church we sang the very popular worship song, “Mighty to Save”. I have sang it at least a hundred times or more, but this time one of the lyrics jumped out at me in a very different way; “Savior, He can move the mountains, my God is mighty to save”. The Lord has definitely moved a lot of mountains out of my life! But this is what hit me: If He moves mountains, does He move mountains INTO my life? Not just OUT of my life?

I tend to put the Lord in a box and only want Him to move the mountains out of my life - It’s much more convenient and neatly packaged that way! What in the world do I do when He moves mountains into my life? Builds them there? How fair is that? – I came to realize it’s not. It’s about Him getting the glory, whatever direction He chooses to move the mountain. The practical application of Him getting the glory is where it gets tough for me.

Last week we had a class on leadership and how to know and lead in the strength’s God has given each of us. I admit to having a very childish hissy fit when I found out that one of my strengths or gifting was “woo”. My first response was, what the heck is “woo”? Isn’t that some old romantic term? Tom Rath defines the strength of ‘woo’ this way: “People who are especially talented in the Woo theme love the challenge of meeting new people and winning them over. They derive satisfaction from breaking the ice and making a connection with another person.” Another definition is that people generally like people who have ‘woo’ and they don’t even know why. They evidence a charisma of sorts.

At first glance doesn’t sound like too bad of a strength to have, right? This is where the whole “your greatest strengths can also be your greatest weaknesses” comes in. The dark side of ‘woo’ is manipulation. You know people, and how to work them. In extreme, Hitler had woo.

When I was about 15 years old I started to realize I had this side to my personality, but had no idea what it was called or what I should do with it. I quickly realized the power behind ‘woo’ (especially when it came to my interactions with guys) and it scared me so badly, I promised the Lord I would never use it to manipulate men. I tried to squelch and bury this strength.

God had other plans and this week I have realized how big a mountain of ‘woo’ I have in my life! Ignoring it did not make the mountain shrink! Rather than using it wrongly, I tried to pretend it wasn’t there, but in doing so I did abuse it. God doesn’t get any glory from us trying to hide our talents, strengths or mountains!
I still look at ‘woo’ as a mountain in my life because I don’t know how to use it yet. Some mountains block the Son, other mountains illustrate the glory of the Son. I want to use ‘woo’ to draw people to the Lord, not to Katie. This is something I’m still struggling with working through.

Femininity with ‘woo’ is still dangerous, it lends to unintentionally giving (guys especially) the wrong impressions. One of the things I have been re-examining out here in Colorado is how to have godly, peer friendships with guys.

I was asked out at gun point on Saturday. “Held up” by a guy on a sidewalk with a toy gun and laser pointer. Who then proceeded to ask if he could take me out to dinner to make up for the hold-up. You laugh but this happens to me all the time! Why is this? I have re examined everything from the way I walk and talk to how I dress, and I have found that doing that, only leads to a crazy circle of questions. Several wise and godly friends have reminded me that it’s not about what others think I should or shouldn’t do, or even what I think about it that matters. In the end it’s what the Lord thinks. He gave me ‘woo’ in the first place!

So I’m back to the central question in my life: “Lord what do YOU want? How should I act here?” And now a new question –“How do I use the mountain of ‘woo’, to woo people to Yourself? In sharing this with a friend and mentor, she reminded me of this scripture:

“But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”[a] But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.”

1 Cor. 2:9-10. We often quote the first verse, but forget where and how, the things God has prepared for us, will be are revealed – through the Holy Spirit! I can’t begin to comprehend how the Lord will use my ‘woo’, if I surrender it to Him. I so often I fall into the pit of trying to figure it out on my own.

One last thought. I loved watching the sunrises or sunsets back home in New York state. But I don’t know if anything compares to the beauty of those same sunrises/sets in Colorado. Why? Because the mountains here give a depth and framework that accentuate and compound the beauty of those sunrises/sets that the flat lands never could!(most pictures don't even begin to capture it.) I’m praying it’s the same thing with my mountain of ‘woo’. I would have chosen the flat lands, to let people see the Lord in me. Yet He knows better and moved that mountain into my life, so that somehow, His glory can be reflected more! Anyone else have these mountains?