Can you hear me now?

I have been accused of many things in my lifetime, but being too quiet to be heard has NEVER been one of them...and I have always hated that about myself. 

What? You thought I was loud on purpose? Heavens no! I'm not trying to be loud - it just...HAPPENS!

I can't count the times I've heard, "I didn't know you were here and then I heard your voice." Or, "I couldn't find you, so I stopped and listened to hear your voice." I've even had students that I haven't seen in YEARS come up to me saying, "I was standing over there and I heard that voice and thought - that's Mrs. Sumrall!" Yes, my voice carries.

In the past few years, however, I've learned to embrace my "loud." It is a gift! For example, this past summer, we were in a crowded Cane's restaurant and the young lady behind the counter was trying to call out orders, but her voice was so sweet and soft that no one could hear her. I was waiting for my food, so I stepped up to help, calling out each name after she told me who the order was for. Based on the reaction of the patrons, my voice was welcomed! They even sounded sad when my order came and I decided to sit down and give up my new found "job." Being loud came in handy that day. 

It's also been very handy anytime I've needed to get a crowd (like my students) to hear me. I can be heard in the back of the auditorium without the aide of a microphone. I've used that skill quite often. I joke that I was destined to either be a teacher or an opera singer and since I can't really carry a tune, my fate was decided.

Why tell you all this? Because I think all too often the very gift God has given us to reach the world is one that we feel is a flaw - an embarrassment. The Bible story that immediately comes to mind is Zacchaeus, the wee little man. Somehow I'm not sure we'd have heard about him of his amazing story if he'd been six feet tall.

What is your "gift"? The one that you think is a flaw - a mistake? The one that you so wish you could change? What might happen if instead of trying to cover up our flaw, we took it to the top of a sycamore tree where it really stood out? What if we let that trait the world looks at as a problem and used it to spread the love of Jesus? What if we actually agreed with God that He makes no mistakes and we are created just as He would have us to be? 

What if?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on your "damaged gifts" that God is using. Let us encourage one another the way that only broken, damaged people who are loved by God can do.

Psalm 139:14
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Genesis 1:26a
Then God said, "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness...

Psalm 40:5
Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count.