Have you ever met the type of woman you'd just give anything to be? You know the ones I'm talking about. The insanely gorgeous, energetically successful, picture-perfect woman who eagerly tackles each day and has every aspect of her life perfectly intact. She floats around, fulfilling almost everything there is to fulfill in a day while you can barely get to class on time with a somewhat matching outfit, yesterday's unbrushed hair and a cup of coffee.
I passed a girl fitting the above description to a tee. She was ahead of me in line at Starbucks and I just couldn't help but be mesmerized by her. I was speechless at how put together not only she was, but how put together her life was. She walked confidently, assured of her purpose in life and driven to achieve it. I thought about how I had skipped washing my hair that morning because I woke up too late to even think of washing it. I remembered how I settled on wearing a wrinkled t-shirt that day because I didn't have time to search through unfolded, clean clothes for something decent. I noticed her perfectly trimmed and manicured hands, looked down at mine and saw nail beds that haven't landed in a salon for almost 3 months. And then I began thinking, "there's no way I'm ever going to be as successful as her, I can't possibly do it". As soon as this little thought crossed my mind, God took me back to a Christmas spectacular I attended just two weeks earlier at my home church. The speaker gave us a golden nugget that I don't think I'll ever be able to forget because as soon as she said it, my heart dropped and I knew that nugget was for me and hopefully it's for you too.
She told us,
"God hasn't called you to be the woman sitting next to you. He has called you to be you."
Girl, if that doesn't slap you right in the heart, I don't know what will.
As I stood in that coffee line, I began to think what God has called me to do. He's called me into education, into campus leadership and recently pulled my heart into missions. I don't know what that gorgeous woman's call of God is, but I can only pray she's fulfilling it with her entire heart. As I looked back and examined how I was fulfilling my God-calling, I might not show up with the greatest outfit, I might not show up with tamed hair, and I might not even show up with the same shoes on- honestly, this wouldn't even surprise me at all. But one thing I will show up with is an eager heart, a humble spirit and a serving state of mind. My nails might not be manicured and they may be a total mess, but if they're the helping hand they've been called to be, then I am all right with that.
If I focused all of my time on whether I looked the part instead of actually being the part, then I've missed my calling.
"And these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified." - Romans 8:30
God might giggle at your mismatching shoes, your crazy hair, or the same outfit you wore yesterday, but one thing He will adore is the heart you put into the things you do for His kingdom. God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called. You don't have to have it all together to fulfill your God-calling.