According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the definition of anoint is to put water or oil on someone in a religious ceremony. It also gives a secondary definition, which is to choose someone or something for a particular job or purpose. It is this second definition that is most prevalent on my mind this morning.

I often hear people talking about how insufficient they feel for whatever task or job has been given them. This is especially true from the parents I know. Moms and dads all over often feel under qualified and overwhelmed by the responsibility they have as shepherds over the lives of their children. They frequently express their distress and frustration at what they view as failures or mistakes they’ve made in relation to their children. Whether they have one or seven, the feelings of inadequacy remain the same.

Now, as I am not a parent myself, I am not trying to imply that I have any special insight or knowledge about how to raise children. I do love kids and I started my nursing career in pediatrics, but I don’t claim to be any kind of child expert. I use parenting as an example of anointing, as I believe it best expresses the point I’d like to make on the subject.

I once heard Joyce Meyer talk about people being anointed by God for certain responsibilities in life, especially parenthood. Her words helped me gain a much better perspective on life with my own parents, and about anointing, in general. You see, as I’ve mentioned before, my mother took some very wrong turns in her life. Her choices brought a great deal of adversity and suffering to a lot of people in her life, including me. She got heavily involved in the world of drugs and violence, and much of that world spilled into my life as a young child.

Now, it would be easy for me to look back and see only the darkness and downsides of my life with her, but over the last few years, I have gained a much better, and I believe more accurate, perspective of the situation. In spite of the wrong turns into dangerous territory, my mother was blessed with a very gentle and loving soul. She was kind and funny. Even though she didn’t always hit the mark in the standard motherly obligations, I know she was anointed to be my mother so she could pass along her loving and funny nature to me. That was what I believe God most needed her to give me.

He provided a variety of mother figures along the way in my life who provided some of the other stuff she wasn’t equipped to give me. He also blessed me with a truly amazing man to be my daddy. In his anointing as my earthly father, my dad was equipped with the discipline, knowledge, patience, love, humor, and much more that I needed in order to become a stronger, more adaptable person. He has taught me so much over the years, and continues to be a loving support in my life.

My takeaway from all of this is that, even with all of her mistakes and supposed failures, my mother still gave me what I needed from her, and God was there to make sure I got everything else. Something else the Lord has done is take the pain of those years and made them into something useful. I have my own anointing’s in this life, and I have no doubt that every single thing I have experienced will help enable me to fulfill the purposes God has for me.

As with everything, the paths we follow are largely affected by our perspectives. Do we walk with an earthly perspective, or a Godly one? Do we look around and see errors and mistakes, failures and brokenness? Or, do we choose to see useful experiences to help us learn and grow, as well as help others who have many of the same broken pieces? I’ve always held the opinion that we have the choice each day about which pair of glasses we’ll choose to wear when looking at our lives. We can choose to put on the pair that shows us the ugliness, the challenges, and the pitfalls, or we can choose to put on the pair that allows us to see the beauty, the opportunities, and the love.

Consider your life and the anointing’s God has placed upon you. As you do, remember that whatever He puts in your path, He also gives you what you need to get the job done. Even more importantly, He only needs you to do what you can, and then have faith that He is with you taking care of what you can’t. He doesn’t need any of us to be superheroes. He just needs us to be us…