All my life it seems like I just wanted to blend in. Raise my hand in class? Never. Sure, I knew the answers, but I didn’t want to stand out. Fight to be first at anything? No way. Maybe I was good enough to be first; I’ll never know. At the time I relished the anonymity and lack of effort provided by second place. Once, at age 10, my mom made me play a piano solo in front of a large church crowd. I was an accomplished pianist and yet, when it was over, I ran off the stage in tears. Looking back I realize that it wasn’t playing the piano I objected to; it was calling attention to myself that was the problem. And I’m not blaming my mom. She saw from the beginning what it took me 25 years to understand.

I’m still not completely sure why I wanted to blend in – be part of the masses – it just felt comfortable. Fortunately, about 15 years ago that changed. God put a ministry opportunity before me that transformed my perspective on my abilities and His purpose. It became clear to me like never before that the abilities I had were part of God’s purpose for my life. I was trying to downplay them, but God was waiting for me to pull them out of hiding, polish them, and use them to further His kingdom. It wasn’t about calling attention to myself. It was all about calling attention to the one and only God.

Sure, we’ve all heard “God loves you and He has a great plan for your life.” But somehow it never did sink in that He was talking about me. Finally, one day, God got out the heavenly revelation kit: flashlight and megaphone. The light shone down on me (figuratively), and there was a loud voice in my head, “Hello… I love you… I have a great plan for your life… let’s talk.”

And talk we did. These days I’m all about pursuing the best I can be at whatever God puts before me. That means my job, my relationships, my ministry opportunities, and this year a new one… my physical health. I’m passionate about using my gifts to make God known, and that requires I become the woman God created me to be… in every way. Am I there yet? Definitely not, but I’m on the way. Has God used the heavenly revelation kit on you? Email me. We’ll talk.