Who I am to speak?
Yesterday I had the privilege of speaking to a beautiful group of women at a church gathering. This week as I prepared my presentation, doubts clouded my thinking.
- Who am I to speak to these women?
- What do I have to offer?
- Why did I agree to offer encouragement when many days I struggle to keep my own life together?
Are there times when you feel like a fraud?
Who am I to Speak?
Here is the direction my thoughts went this week as I prepared my presentation.
Who I am to speak about weight loss?
Yes, I’ve lost 100 pounds and been maintaining that loss for many years. But food is still a battle ground for me and I go up and down those last 10 pounds.
I feel like a fraud speaking about weight loss when I just ate 4…then 6 more…Christmas cookies.
Who am I to speak about faith?
What can I possibly share about the good news of Jesus when I haven’t spent nearly enough time in my own devotions? Let’s face it – I’m no saint.
Who am I to speak about parenting?
The irony is not lost on me that, at one point while I was upstairs preparing my presentation, my son was throwing a massive fit, screaming and kicking the walls. It doesn’t matter that I’ve parented my own 5 children and 35 foster children. Many days, my husband and I are on a wing and a prayer when it comes to parenting.
When You Feel Like a Fraud
Perhaps you can relate. Are there times when you feel like a fraud?
Maybe you wonder, “Who am I to teach or lead or sing? There are other people who do it so much better. I honestly have no clue what I am doing.”
Some days –
- I feel like a fraud as a speaker and writer.
- I feel like a fraud as a parent.
- I feel like a fraud as a Family Advocate.
- I feel like a fraud as a women of God.
What do I really know about how to do any of these things?
At times, I think someone will stop me and say, “Shows over. You’ve been figured out. We know you really don’t know what you are doing. There’s someone more qualified.”
Can I tell you I’ve even sat on this blog post idea for weeks now, nervous to tell you just now much I doubt myself in so many areas of life?
I gently, graciously offer these words to you as my small gift, because maybe you’ve felt this way too.
Who am I?
Here is what I’ve learned.
My coach Kathy (Kathy Willis of Word Girls, highly recommend) once said, “God has given you all these experiences for a reason. Use them for His kingdom.”
Her words resonated.
Those times when I feel like a fraud?
It’s not about who I am, but about who He is.
I am not enough. But He is.
Take My Name
Consider Moses. In Exodus 3, we read that God spoke to him in a burning bush that caught fire yet did not burn up. As Moses went over to examine this wonder, God spoke to him.
God sent Moses to lead His people out of slavery in Egypt. Moses, as so many of us do, replied, “I’m not qualified.”
God did not give Moses a pep talk. God did not encourage Moses by bolstering his self-esteem.
Instead, God said this,
But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?’ He {God} said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain. Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am.’
Exodus 3:11-12
Who am I?
I am His, and that is enough.
More Posts You Will Love
You Can Be NOT Okay…and Still Be a Good Christian
If Your Holidays Are Messy, You Aren’t Alone
Prayer for a Mid-Life Birthday
Yes, yes, yes! It is our NEW Identity – In Christ – that matters and gives us the will to turn our ear from the enemy’s taunts and to say with confidence, “Thank you, enemy, for reminding me that this humbling reminder of who I was before is no longer true – and that I can do all things through Christ!