Tag: Impact

You Are Essential

You are needed here, no matter what you have done.

Let’s be honest. We’re all sick of that word, but it’s still there, used to distinguish between the people who “help” and who don’t.

But what if I told you that you are essential, just by being here?

Maybe you haven’t solved the most recent medical crisis or participated in a noteworthy act of kindness.

Maybe you forget to hold the door open or don’t smile at a kid waving at you. Maybe you don’t go the extra mile for others.

Maybe you’ve done things so terrible that your heart aches just thinking about them.

But what if I told you that even with all those things, you are still needed here?

It’s not a question. It’s really a statement.

You. Are. Needed. Here.

Why? Well, glad you asked.

Maybe you’ve messed up. Big time. But that doesn’t mean those choices have to dictate the rest of your life.

Today could be the day you step out and say:

I am worth it.

I do make an impact.

I can use the love I’ve felt to motive me to love others.

And maybe all those things feel like catchphrases that slip in one ear and out the other. Fake. Not in your heart. Mindless.

But what if simple, yet profound phrases actually sink deeper into your heart? What if you allow yourself to believe that those things are really true?

Today you can make a difference. You can reach out and see how that quiet friend is doing. You can bury your pride and check in on a relative. You can welcome rest and grace into all your relationships, including with yourself.

How can we live with such assurance of our purpose? Because we know that God made us for a reason. While things don’t always make sense, God has a greater plan, and will use our gifts for His glory. The little things you do each day will add up, and looking back, you’ll realize how many people you’ve helped.

But the best part is, the more you accept God’s love for you, the more that love will extend to others. That’s the most beautiful thing of all. ❤

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 John 4:7-8

God Uses Every Version of You

Do you feel embarrassed about the past? Here’s some encouragement!

Do you ever look back and immediately cringe? Usually it’s not just for the outdated trends or gastly hairstyles, but for the person we used to be, so unknowing and just plain embarrassing! But our memory does change over time, and we don’t always see ourselves as the people we truly were at the time. God will use us no matter what stage of life we’re in. Just think about the people who have touched your life. They hadn’t reached “perfection” when they helped you, yet they were impactful.

I was reminded of how God moves through us, even at young ages, while reading an old journal entry last night. Back in 2019, God had given me “instinctual sympathy” for a girl at my barn who I didn’t know very well. In my journal entry from that summer, I wrote that I felt I needed to pray for her because I might be one of the only ones who was. I even off-handedly remarked that perhaps God would use me in her life someday. I had no clear reason why I felt the way I did or how true my words would be.

Fast-forward two years. I started getting to know her better and understanding what was happening in her life. She didn’t have a clear relationship with God, but I could tell she was struggling. God has given me so many opportunities to be there for her in ways I never imagined in 2019. I got chills just reading how God was preparing me to be a friend to her back in the years were I felt “ill-equipped” and “unusable”.

How often do we let age or status or other people’s opinions of us define how much impact God can have on our lives, or even how we’re able to affect others? Has that held you back from reaching out and being there for someone you know needs a friend? What if that mindset is keeping us from being the reason someone smiles or has hope for the future or even starts a relationship with God?

You have the potential to change people’s lives. We were created to positively change lives, to change the world. God is ready to grow you into an extraordinary person. The only thing holding you back is not believing you’re worth it.

Well, guess what. You are so worth it.

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Galatians 2:20

For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Philippians 2:13