Recognizing our Weaknesses while Fulfilling our Mission

 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their ^aweakness. I ^bgive unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my ^cgrace is sufficient for all men that ^dhumble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make ^eweak things become strong unto them. - - Ether 12:27 (Book of Mormon)

Does anyone really like to look at their weaknesses?  And yet at the same time, don't we all see our weaknesses more than our strengths?  It seems to be a Catch-22, doesn't it? 

As in a motherhood discussion group we talked about discovering our missions in life by understanding our weaknesses.  Randall Wright mentions that in order to understand who we are we must acknowledge our weaknesses. 

I remember sitting in a Relief Society meeting and someone made a comment about discovering our weaknesses.  The gal sitting next to me muttered, "Oh!  I already know mine."  I couldn't help thinking, "That's not what she (the commenter) means."  There's one thing to belittle ourselves over our weaknesses and another to fully acknowledge before God the characteristics that we lack to fully become one with Him. 

Recognizing our weaknesses is not saying, "She's good at that and I'm not."  Recognizing our weaknesses is an act of humility when we can go to our Father in Heaven and say, "Tell me what I can work on so I can be more like Thee." 

I had a harsh awakening at Education Week this year.  I was literally squirming in my seat, uncomfortable as I realized that the message was to me and I didn't really want to hear it (though it did sink deep into my heart).  The topic was  (dare I admit it!)  on getting defensive and being offensive.  

The funny thing is, when the Lord reveals a weakness to you (in many different ways), it's not so hard to swallow (as opposed to my husband telling me my weaknesses).  :-)  I almost found the information refreshing because I suddenly knew exactly what I needed to work on so I could be closer to true discipleship  (and I'm still working on it!). 

Another thing I appreciated from Acheiving Your Life Mission was how the author put weaknesses in a positive light.  For instance, President Hinckley was not a man of great patience and yet it was his impatience that got 100 temples dotting the earth in a short amount of time.  So, there are benefits to our weaknesses that we need to seek and learn from.