Standing on my Soap Box

Have you ever felt like you wanted to be like someone else? Seen someone who appeared to have everything all together? I used to have a friend like that. She was very pretty, very thin, and very well organized. Life came at her, and she handled it like a pro. I would watch her when I’d go visit, and wished I could be like her. I wished that I cared enough to take the time she did to do my make up, or my hair, wished that I could exude the same confidence that she did. I was the country bumpkin next to her big city appeal. Turns out one day she confided in me that was on “happy pills”. So apparently she didn’t have it all together.

Recently, I started reading a few books. One is called Clout, discover and unleash your God-given influence by Jenni Catron and Patrick Lecioni. And it describes Clout as “the influence that God has given to you and no one else. You are specifically designed to impact the world in a way that NO ONE ELSE CAN (my emphasis) Discovering your clout is an essential part of unleashing your purpose. You have a specific purpose, a calling, that only you are qualified to fulfill. Your God given influence defines your purpose. Your purpose establishes your leadership. Your leadership makes a mark on the world. The book then goes on to say that there are clout killers. They are the “voices” of fear, comparison, jealousy, scarcity, insecurity, pride or control.

I so wanted to BE like my friend, I was driven by comparison, and insecurity. I am so not dainty, she even suggested when we started having children, that she couldn’t see me with daughters, as I was a little to “rough and tumble”, and boys just seemed to suit my nature better.

Comparison, the bible actually calls comparison the sin of covetousness. We essentially reject how God has made us and gifted us. We covet what he has given to others. Did you know that covetousness, which is the last commandment can cause us to break all the other commandments? When we compare we are distracted from who God made us to be, and distorts our view of ourselves.

Insecurity, it impacts our influence. It always sees what’s missing in ourselves. That which makes you insecure might be the very thing that makes you unique. People who are insecure may put on false “airs” trying to compensate for what they think isn’t there. In order to make them feel better, they bully others. Insecurity keeps me fixated on myself wallowing in my “I’m not good enough” fears.

So what does this mean for you (and me)? Remember that God has made you, and he has a special plan and purpose that He wishes for you to fulfil. I may not be like my old friend, but God did not put me here on this earth to fulfill her destiny, he made me who I am, so that I may reach out to those he has for me to touch. Just like you, I cannot be you, nor can I be the queen of England, I can however be me. I need to trust that I am where I am supposed to be and doing what I am supposed to do.