Ever felt like you had no idea what your purpose was?
Ever asked God, “What am I supposed to be doing?” You take a bird’s eye
view of your life, and you don’t see any way that God could use you. You read
blogs and Facebook posts and instead of inspiring you, it’s depressing. People
are reaching millions through their words, through mission trips, and the list
goes on.
But you?
You live in a middle class neighborhood, with a middle
class income, 2.5 kids (I never know what the .5 is for, but I’ve always wanted
to use it so here it is), you have a pet that drives you crazy, and you drive a
minivan.
Typically, you run late for, well, everything. You
might stay home to work, or you might venture out to work. Your job is average.
In fact, most days you don’t even want to be there. Your hair is in serious
need of color or a cut. You’re still wearing clothes from five years ago, and
they’re too tight. While you long to be a Sephora kind of woman, you’re just a
Cover Girl. You do the same thing day in and day out.
You wouldn’t call your life beautiful. You’d call
it…reality.
I know you. I am you.
My fictional character in Just the Way You Are knows you, too. Her name is Audrey. She has an
unpretty past (unpretty is a word so let it go). She’s living her life. Day in.
Day out. She has a lot of regrets and wishes she could be more like Sierra
Bradley. Sierra, in Audrey’s eyes, is a Sephora woman. She owns her own
business. Audrey still works for the same sisters she’s worked for since she
was sixteen. She can’t afford her own business. Sierra can sing like an angel.
Audrey won’t even let the shower head hear her for fear she’d never get a hot
shower again. She wishes she could be like her best friend Eden, who is
organized and always on time, who knows just what to say at the right time…
Ever compared yourself to others? Wished you had
someone else’s gift? Yeah. Me too.
Audrey decides to be more like those people. She
thinks it will help her become a better match for the single pastor who has his
eye on her.
But what Audrey doesn’t realize, and what you may not
realize, is God made you unique. I know, we say that all the time until it
becomes cliché, and we don’t even believe it.
But it’s true.
When He formed you He embedded interesting things into
your DNA: The ability to sing and hear parts, to stay in the pocket and on
perfect pitch along with the love for music. Maybe you have an amazing eye for
color, and you can walk into a room and envision beauty and warmth. You might be
really great with words, poetic and beautiful. You might be athletic. You enjoy
cooking and are excellent at it. You love to bake. You love children and are
good with them. All you did in high school was babysit! All those seemingly
common things. All those ordinary things…
They’re beauty to God. Because He gave each one of
those gifts to you. To make you who you are. To be used for His glory.
Take that ability to make a cozy home and share it
with others. Host a small group or Bible study. Go into a single mom’s home and
help her create the same atmosphere for free! Using things you’ve found at
garage sales or using what she has. When she comes home after an exhausting
day, her home becomes her sanctuary, and it gives her a measure of peace. A gift
God gave you has now been used for His glory. A reminder every day for her that
He loves her and has her in His hands.
If you love to bake and cook. Host a progressive
dinner to give your small group a fun night. Take your deliciousness to
teachers, new moms, families who are grieving. Everyone knows fellowship over
food is king! J Share your gift to bring joy into lives. Take a dish to your new
neighbor. Bake a birthday cake for a mom who can’t bake but wants to do
something special for her kids. Maybe she can’t even afford a cake. But you
have the ability. Do it. It’s a beautiful thing.
If you scrapbook, start a local group and invite the
one who cooks lol! She can bring dessert. Who knows what a stress reliever that
will be to a mom how needs a night out. It’s fun. It’s ministry. And who knows
what divine appointments await.
Use what God gave you. No you might not be in Africa
feeding tens of thousands of starving children. But you are pouring renewed
hope into a frazzled mom.
You might not be singing to a theater of people. But
you’re touching a tired working woman who needs recharging for a week to come
as you sing to a church body of 75 people.
You might not have your own decorating show, reaching
millions. But you are bringing some joy into the life of someone who needs to feel
secure and safe.
You might not be writing the best seller novel, but
you’re touching hearts as you pen little notes of encouragement to the people
in your community. A good word in due season is gold!
Maybe like Audrey in my novella, you just need to see
that God loves you and can use you, just the way you are.
It’s a thing of beauty. You are beautiful. Your
gifts…they aren’t common. They’re beautiful.
“Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as
something done for the Lord and not for men.” Colossians 3:23 HCSB
“For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10 HCSB
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Jessica R. Patch |
Just like Jess said above, she understands feeling common. But she also knows God created us all for a purpose AND abundant life. It was out of this heart-knowledge that Audrey's story was born. Much like Jess just encouraged us to use our gifts to reach others, she's using hers to reach out too. She's giving away her novella for free for a limited time. To receive your copy, sign up for her newsletter at the link below. 4-6 times a year you'll receive an encouraging newsletter from Jess along with a few more stories.
And here’s a peek at Just
the Way You Are:
Gabriel Brookson wants out of Audrey’s friend-zone,
but when he pursues her romantically, he ruffles more than a few feathers in
his congregation. How much is he willing to give up for this wonderful, quirky woman,
and will Audrey accept him if he risks it all?
About Jess:
Jessica R. Patch lives in the mid-south where she pens
inspirational contemporary romance and romantic suspense novels. When she’s not
hunched over her laptop or going on adventurous trips in the name of research
with willing friends, you can find her sneaking off to movies with her husband,
watching way too much Netflix with her daughter, dominating her son at board
games, and collecting recipes to amazing dishes she'll probably never cook. Her
debut novel with Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense will release in early 2016.
She is represented by Rachel Kent of Books
& Such Literary Management.
Connect with Jessica on: FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jessica-R-Patch-Writer/209834115730711?ref=bookmarks
, TWITTER https://twitter.com/jessicarpatch
, PINTEREST https://www.pinterest.com/jessicarpatch/just-the-way-you-are/
where you can take a peek at the cast of Just the Way You Are and get a peek
into some fun scenes in the novella, her WEBSITE www.jessicarpatch.com .
Check out her first book in the Seasons of Hope
series, Hope Under Mistletoe on AMAZON. http://www.amazon.com/Hope-Under-Mistletoe-Seasons-Book-ebook/dp/B00U0IQRO0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426098652&sr=8-1&keywords=hope+under+mistletoe
Awe, That was so well said. I think we have all felt that one way or another. What can God do with me? I'm just do ordinary. Thanks for reminding us who we are in Christ.
ReplyDeleteSo true, Dana:) This post was a great reminder.
DeleteThanks, Dana! We are so much in Christ! :)
DeleteThanks, Dana! We are so much in Christ! :)
DeleteWhat a beautiful post, Jessica. I think it's important to start my day with scripture to remember God has a plan for my life which means my day. I want to be used by Him every day. Thanks for the reminder we are beautiful because of Him.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend!