Appreciating Opposites

Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

The crying started as a slow whimper but escalated quickly. Blinking blearily, I flipped over and peeked at the baby monitor. Wide awake. Sighing, I silenced the monitor and walked to my daughter’s room to feed and soothe her and get her back to sleep.

I fell back into bed but was awakened again a few hours later. Glancing at the clock, I noticed it was 4:10 a.m. Yes! Turning to my other side, I gently nudged my husband.

“Honey,” I whispered, “it’s your turn.”

My husband has always been a morning person. Whereas I need a cup of coffee and a few minutes of silence to feel like myself, he practically bounces out of bed.

At times, being opposites annoyed me. Couldn’t he be a little less talkative in the morning? Couldn’t we have a conversation later in the evening without him falling asleep on me?

But those early morning tendencies worked in my favor when our first child was born. Between 10 a.m. and 4 a.m., I would get up with her. After 4 a.m., he would care for her until I awakened around 7 a.m., when he had to get ready for work.

No longer did our opposite schedules feel like a problem. Now, I appreciated his ready response to those early wake-up calls.

We struggle with opposites, don’t we? They feel inherently problematic. Extreme heat or cold by themselves can cause death, but when used as a counterbalance to one another, they are helpful—like a blast of cool air-conditioning on a ninety-degree day or a warm bath on a snowy evening. As members of the body of Christ, each of us has a unique role. I wonder if we struggle to find balance because it’s only achieved when we move closer to someone or appreciate how their differences make up for what we lack. We can work together for peace when we use our opposite natures to offset others.

Kristin

Today’s Act of Gratitude

Think of a person who is your opposite in some way. How can you appreciate a quality that counterbalances one of your own?