As kids, when a gift was given to us we often got the cue from our parents, “What do you say?”. The goal of this was to teach us how to be thankful for what was given to us. As we grow older we begin to discover how to be gracious, thanking others for gifts or acts of kindness, but have we learned to be thankful for the greatest gifts in life?
Most of my life I’ve been described as:
Quiet
Nice
A good listener
Shy
Observant
Caring
Emotional
Friendly
Etc…
None of these sound particularly negative to most people, except me.
Every time I hear these descriptions of me, I cringe. It has always made me feel like a wallflower without a voice, leading to me falling deeper and deeper into the quiet roles others cast me in.
I didn’t believe I could be an extroverted person others looked up to and admired, because that was never how I was described. I accepted the label others placed on me, and assumed I would never be more than those labels.
Fortunately, God put experiences, opportunities and mentors in my life that changed all of that. Through college, graduate school and most recently the World Race training camp, I have discovered who Kenna REALLY is and the gifts I bring to the table.
I see that I am:
not the person to speak every chance I get, because I don’t like to talk when the words don’t add to the conversation.
someone that feels ALL the feels, because I hate seeing others hurt.
someone who loves to share my thoughts and ideas with others, but will always be nervous to speak in front of a group because I worry I wont deliver it well.
someone who will remain quiet in new or stressful situations, not from a lack of caring, but to make sure I have taken adequate time to understand the situation before I act.
These are just a few of the realizations I have made and, more importantly, accepted about myself. Something I struggle with is being envious of other people’s gifts. I see how funny, outgoing, and brave others are and wonder, “why am I not like that?”. I notice how certain people draw others in and make friends in an instant and begin comparing myself to them, because it must mean I lack in some way.
What I learned recently is to be thankful for the gifts I HAVE been given. God made me with such purpose and to ridicule that is throwing away the beautiful works he knit together himself.
Psalm 139 describes God’s intentional creation of all people. Every part of us is purposeful and meaningful, from a Father that does not make mistakes.
Instead of comparing ourselves, we need to learn to appreciate the beautiful differences between us. We are all apart of Gods plan and he made us unique because we all bring something significant and different to this world.
My challenge to myself and others is to stop comparing gifts and instead learn to be thankful for every beautiful part of God’s masterpiece that is you and I.
