Most of us, especially those in my generation, were raised with affirmations like, “You are so special. You can do anything you put your mind to. Go change the world.”
At first glance, you make think. ROCK ON. Heck yes, get up and do the thing.
I was the same way for most of my life. I am thankful for the affirmations, as I have realized my love language is words of affirmation, this helped shape my confidence, my determined nature and my sense of security within myself.
However, those affirmations are A LOT of pressure. You can be ANYTHING. Go CHANGE the WORLD. Holy cow. That is quite a load on a kiddo.
After my 33 years of life and my commitment to my faith, I have realized that we are not special. We are ordinary. We cannot be anything we want.
Before you throw sandwiches at me, hear me out.
We CAN be special, and we CAN do certain things that COULD change the world. We were each born with gifts, God-given, spiritual gifts.
Administration
Apostleship
Discernment
Evangelism
Exhortation (aka the encourager)
Faith
Giving
Healing
Knowledge
Leadership
Mercy
Miracles
Teaching
Serving
Wisdom
With these God-given gifts, God can use us… ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary feats. We were made in His image, so of course He wants to work brilliantly in our lives. But we have to accept him into our hearts.
It is easy to trudge on this path of life with no direction, thinking we know it all and don’t need any help. But how incredible would it be, if we surrendered and were lifted into the light and carried by His love and grace to accomplish greatness.
I love stories about the underdog, the weak one that did something great. The small one, the meek one, the abandoned one, the one who everyone thought would become nothing. God uses ordinary, weak, broken people to undertake unbelievable achievements.
Because let's be real, how many people do the dishes? How many people scrub the toilets? How many people walk over the mess and think, well someone else will clean that up...? To make a difference, we need to do the dishes. We need to have humility and be willing to do the hard things, the things that no one else wants to do. Just as coal turns into a diamond, ordinary people have greatly impacted our history. All because they used their gift, and they did the hard things.
Whatever chapter of life you are facing, know that you are not alone. Know that you have something in you that the world needs. What is your spiritual gift? What do you offer to those around you? God knows every hair on your head, if you haven’t spoken to him, he is patiently waiting for your call. He will grow in you a sense of peace, love and happiness that feels your heart may explode.
This is how I was able to get through over the past 15 months. Enduring the worst, mentally and physically. And yet, here I am. Find your gift, use it and watch beauty bloom all around you.
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