Have you ever lived in your sweet spot?
Our pastor used a cool phrase this weekend: serving from your sweet spot.
Athletes know about the “sweet spot.” It’s the place where you strike a ball so perfectly that you hardly feel it. In baseball, if you miss it by a millimeter it feels like you hit a boulder. But when you hit that sweet spot perfectly there’s just this soft clicking feeling as the ball seems to jump off the bat.
Musicians hear that sweet spot when they’re blending perfectly with other performers. It’s the difference between playing the right notes and making beautiful music.
I once watched a friend sort through a pile of exotic hardwood scraps as she prepared to complete her latest artwork. Finally she selected one that appeared no different (to me) than the others and cradled it as if she’d discovered a rare, precious stone.
Something about that piece, something I’d never perceive, touched the sweet spot in her creative soul.
I got distracted
I’ll be honest—I sort of zoned out when I heard that phrase. I’m sure the speaker said a lot of interesting stuff after that, but I found myself just thinking about how cool it is that God wants us to live and serve in our own personal sweet spot.
Ever notice how a particular issue just seems to resonate in your heart? I guess you can be cynical and attribute it to effective marketing, but I see a lot of that stuff that doesn’t have much impact on me. Or the impact is just surface emotion that really doesn’t last.
But every once in a while something pops up and just won’t go away. Maybe you even try to ignore it, but it’s just there and eventually you have to deal with it. That’s exactly how rich’s ride has been for me. It simply demanded a definitive YES or NO.
It’s not about easy
Every field of endeavor has its sweet spot, and it’s got nothing to do with easy. Artists, athletes, musicians, writers, architects—anyone who achieves excellence devotes thousands of hours or demanding, sacrificial training and dedication to hone their craft.
God calls us to use our unique gifts to experience the joy of discovering and serving in our own personal sweet spot, but that joy doesn’t preclude hard word and difficulty.
What are your sweet spots?
I’ve discovered two personal sweet spots: hand cycling and public speaking. Here’s a partial list of what makes them “sweet spots” for me:
- They’re difficult.
- Despite the struggle, I feel more alive when I finish than when I started.
- Courage is required. I have to confront fear, trust others, trust God.
- I grow personally. I feel rewarded for getting outside my personal comfort zone.
- In the give-and-take, I give more than I take. It’s an opportunity to serve.
How about you? What’s a personal sweet spot? What would you add to the list? You can leave a comment here.
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