Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Use YOUR Talents


You could not help but like her.

Her Arkansas drawl, her ear-to-ear smile, her sparkling green eyes
.....and those pipes.

It was hard not to stop and soak in the melodies when this five foot two, perky Southern belle, belted out rifts that could rival Aretha Franklin. It was not uncommon to walk down the 1960's inspired hallways of our dorm and catch girls just standing outside of her door, listening to her practice her musical runs, like they were hoping to get just a glimpse of this star in the making.

And me, well, I could not deny the overwhelming talent, Candee possessed, but my little heart was crushed and quite frankly, a little....scratch that....A LOT jealous.

Coming from a high school with a graduating class of eleven {oh yeah, you read that right} and a youth group of about fifty, I often led the pack in talent, personality, and character. The proverbial story of being the little fish now in a GREAT BIG pond is not a new one, but for the first time in my life, I found myself feeling truly uninspiring and vitally insignificant.

She was smart, pretty, talented, and funny.
She caught the attention of people, especially boys.
And I could not hold a candle to her.
Or at least, that was how my eighteen year old eyes viewed it.

Jealousy burned deep within my soul, and I hated myself for it.

But in spite of myself and more because of the Father's work in my heart, I took a leap of faith and faced my personal demons, supporting every musical audition, contest, performance, and endeavor for which her firecracker personality and powerhouse voice made space. Months went by until one day when she was the only white girl to be accepted into the Souls Afire campus choir, I felt something different happen in my heart.

True joy.
Sheer delight.
She did it! She did it!
I laughed to myself and I think I even did a little happy dance.

The taste of freedom sweetened on my tongue like ice cream on the 4th of July.
I was free from that ugly monster.
Truthfully and unequivocally free.

As we jubilantly frolicked off to celebrate her new soulful musical journey, I recognized that stirring in my heart to come clean. A time of confession was in order.
"Candee, I am have been jealous of you since I first met you. You are so pretty and you're voice is so amazing. The boys always notice and like you, and I just wanted to have all of those things like you do. But tonight, I don't feel jealous any more. I truly feel happy for you, almost like it was me. I am so sorry. I hope you will forgive me." I blurted out quickly.
She looked at me with sincerity,
"Oh my gosh, Lindsey. I...have been jealous of....YOU."
What?!?!?!?! I thought to myself. The idea was simply ludicrous. What did I have that she did not have? She practically light up a room when she walked in.
"You have this way with people," she carried on. "You always know how to encourage and the right things to say, and people REALLY like you and want to be around you. I wish I could be that way with people."
I started to laugh out loud, long and hard.
"Oh, Candee! Imagine what God must be thinking right now.....'My silly girls...just be who I created you to be. Stop comparing yourselves to each other and trying to be something you were not called to be."
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that
we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness,
that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest
the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same.
As we’re liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.
~Marianne Williamson


Linking up with Write on the Edge for the first time on how we compare ourselves to others. Since it is my first time, I am still working on getting my word count lower, so please be gracious to me.



Also linking up with Write It, Girl, where we are all learning to be bold with the written word together.




You're Already Amazing

10 comments:

Kirsten Holmberg said... Best Blogger Tips

The value of confession! I love this. May we always celebrate who God intended us to be!

Mandy said... Best Blogger Tips

Great post! Thanking Him for the realization that we need to stop comparing and sit in great contentment being who He made us to be and celebrating the same for others. Thanks! (Over from Write it, Girl!)

lindseyfoj said... Best Blogger Tips

Amen. And thank you, Kirsten Holmberg , for stopping by!

lindseyfoj said... Best Blogger Tips

Yes! Thank you, Mandy...it was quite the journey for me. Thankful for His gentle reminders...

Anna Carpenter said... Best Blogger Tips

1) I love that you wrote about Candee. When I think of the girls on Alison's floor, I always think of you two. She really did have an amazing voice. I hope she's still using it! 2) I had almost that exact conversation ver batim with my (still) best friend, Neelka, during the week between A and B trips on a Teen Mania trip to Morocco. We had been jealous of each other for the exact same things the first month. CRAZY!! 3) That essay by Williamson changed my life when I first read it my junior year. It really did free me to be the person God made me to be. 4) That's it, really. Great blog. Love you!

Angie Neal said... Best Blogger Tips

Love this so much!

Katie Orr said... Best Blogger Tips

Isn't it crazy how jealousy can seem to dissipate in a moment?! Thankful for His grace to open our eyes.

Beautiful post, thanks for sharing!

lindseyfoj said... Best Blogger Tips

It was SUCH an amazing journey that the Father took me...us on! Thank you so much for stopping by!

lindseyfoj said... Best Blogger Tips

1) That means so much that you think of both of us!! And yes..phenomenal voice...she is a music teacher now...passing her gifts onto the next generation!

2) So glad to know that others go through the same ups and downs and CAN and DO successfully make it through!

3) Really? I love it..have read it like 10 times over and over again today...still speaking to me

4) Thanks, friend! I really appreciate it! You mean a lot to me!

Rebekah from Simply Rebekah said... Best Blogger Tips

"just be who you were created to be."  Why does that feel so hard sometimes???  Thanks for the great reminder!

PS.  We met at Relevant and I'm FINALLY going through business cards and came to check out your blog.  It was great to meet you!

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