I have been in Tirana, Albania for almost a whole week now. We spend most of our days painting and drawing on walls to turn it into a kindergarten that will be open soon. If you know me well, you also know that I have no artistic abilities. So, of course I spent most of my first day telling people how I am not able to paint or draw. But, going into the race I knew there were going to be things that will challenge me to get out of my comfort zone. Next day, I decided I was just going to go for it and do the best I can with the painting. My flowers might not have been the best looking flowers on that wall, but I did what I could and had so much fun.
I didn’t tell you that story in order to get applause for trying to do my best. But, to remind you who you’re and what you have to offer is enough!! Don’t compare yourself with others. We are all unique individuals created by God. For so long I compared myself with others and no matter how good I was at something, there was always someone else that does it better. I didn’t think comparison was that big of a deal until I started comparing my spiritual life to others. By nature, I am a quite person. I like to worship quietly, talk quietly..you get the point. When I went to Atlanta for training camp in June, I was in a room with about 170 people during worship. First of all, for an introverted person like myself having 170 people in one room is like having the whole world in one room (okay, maybe that’s a little extreme). During worship, I looked around the room and saw almost everyone had their hands up in the air and were singing very loudly. My first thought was, wow, this is awesome this many people crying out to God and giving him the glory. The second thing I did was look at myself and wonder why my hands weren’t up in the air? Or why my singing wasn’t as loud as the person next to me?! And of course, the next question in my mind was, am I as good as a Christian as these people? Should my hands be raised high even though that’s not how I normally worship?
But, then I realized how silly those thoughts were. I don’t remember God telling us to worship a certain way. I realized God isn’t concerned about my outward look, but is concerned about what’s in my heart. In my heart, I know he is worthy of all our praise. He is greater than anything we could ever offer him. So, I encourage you to be your own self. Worship God in the unique ways he has created you. There is only one you in the entire world!
