When You Have Nothing to Offer

I have to be honest. I’ve struggled with what to say to you here today.

Not because I have some deep, powerful thing rumbling deep down that I don’t know how to express.

But more because I feel I truly have nothing to offer.

I’ve asked God to help me. To give me some sort of Divine Word to bring to you. But I’ve been met with only silence.

“What, God?” I’ve asked (or perhaps whined). “What on earth am I supposed to tell them? How can I impart any wisdom when I myself don’t know how to do this parenting thing most of the time?”

Again, silence. But I sensed a bit of a smile from my Heavenly Father. More of a smirk.

So, I wondered. Maybe you’re feeling that way, too? That you have absolutely nothing of value to bring to the table. That you’re fresh out of wise words and catchy anecdotes to offer your kids who are struggling with the same sins and issues you yourself are working through.

Maybe you, too, are in a season of learning at work, and therefore don’t have much in the way of encouragement or instruction for those around you.

Maybe you’re in a season of quiet as a wife. Of observing and praying and just…living.

And I think, just maybe, that’s ok.

Mary was just living her life when out of the blue, the angel spoke.

Moses was just living, learning, trying to fit in when the Burning Bush summoned him.

The woman at the well was just trying to cross off her to-do list while avoiding the drama as best as possible when Jesus met her and turned her world upside down.

Often it’s in the midst of the mundane, everyday, run-of-the-mill messy middle when God shows up and—BOOM—everything changes.

If you’re in that messy middle, can I just encourage you to keep walking the walk? Washing those dishes, teaching those lessons, cooking those meals, shuttling those kids. Pray. Watch. Live.

It’s in these quiet seasons when God tends to do some of His deepest and most important prep-work.

You have a valuable voice. A powerful story. A needed message, don’t get me wrong.

But all too often we mistake the mundane for the meaningless. Don’t let the ordinary lose its power. Rather let God meet you at your well, and speak into your heart. Then, when it’s time, He’ll help you share it loud and clear.

Here’s to the messy middle, my friends.

Blessings,

Jen