Owning Our Gifts

Hey. My name is Lindsey. That’s me crouched on the front left with the stripes surrounded by women I get to serve on the IF:Gathering leadership team.

Many of them you probably recognize — they lead your bible studies, they takeover your twitter feed for the Olympics, Miss America and the Oscars {and make you cry laughing}, they write the books that rest faithfully on your bedside tables, and they are the voices that inspire you to live more boldly, take better pictures, and find your callings. They are pretty much are rock stars. But more importantly, they are beautiful {inside and out} people, dear friends, and women actively chasing after Jesus and trying to be more like Him.

I’m kind of the odd woman out. The one without a husband or a boyfriend. The one without an agent. The one without a book deal. The one who doesn’t frequent conference stages. The one who so completely feels like a Ragamuffin.

These ladies they could care less about that stuff but if I’m honest from time to time it gets to me. Not in a “I wish I could be them” sort of way but in a “does what I have to offer matter” sort of way. And, if I’m honest, this fall I started to forget who I am and the importance of my voice and strengths. I started to believe that I wasn’t enough. I started to diminish myself.

On the Saturday of the IF:Gathering, we asked women to write on a stone to memorialize what God was calling them to and what they were going to do about.

What I wrote on my stone was all about me remembering and owning that God is my Creator.

That I am His beloved.

That He knit me together with unique giftings.

That I am IN SIN when I disqualify myself because I don’t I cast vision like Jennie, preach like Bianca, sing like Lauren, mobilize like Jen, or pray like Ann.

That I need to own my gifts, use my voice, and stop comparing myself.

That my gifts might not attract the masses BUT they are still immensely valuable.

{and so are yours by the way}

Y’all, God didn’t make us all to be speakers, teachers, singers and writers. He made some of us to be team builders. He made some of us to be connectors. He made some of us to be strategic leaders. He made some of us to be award-winning home makers. He made some of us to be welcoming hosts. He made some of us to be prayer warriors. He made some of us to be freedom fighters. He made some of us to be compassionate caretakers. He made some of us to be wise counselors. And he made some of us to be loyal sidekicks.

We all need to own who God created us to be. And remember that we are His masterpiece. Designed purposefully to play a specific part in His good work.