For years, I believed this to be true about myself and often told others that I just wasn’t good at anything remotely connected to art. The only artistic endeavor I was willing to take a risk on was coloring. I especially liked to make lines that swirled in and out of each other so as to create a shape of sorts. Then I would use every crayon in the box to color in the spaces. My father once decided that one of my shapes looked like a turtle and hung it in his office. Seeing it there was one of my proudest moments. It did not, however, undo the damage those ugly words had caused.
Still, I could never get away from wishing that I was an artist. When I saw pictures of a beautifully designed scrapbook I determined that was my in. I didn’t have to be an artist to put stickers on a piece of paper! I quickly discovered that I wasn’t very good at that either. Turns out you can’t just lay out stickers on a piece of paper and it looks nice. What was different was that this time around I had a friend who decided to help me make it look better. She drew borders and talked about spacing and gave me some general knowledge about design. I was hooked.
That was 21 years this summer that I began scrapbooking. Though I do it in various other forms, my favorite hobby is still paper crafting. The words of that teacher still ring in my ears, however. When I sit down to craft I endlessly ask myself questions about whether or not my design will work. Often, the answer is no and I continue to work becoming more and more frustrated as I do so.
The truth is I am a pretty good paper crafter. When I choose not to let that voice whisper into my spirit I not only enjoy the process, but I come up with a piece of art that I like. Listening to the lies is what holds me back. What I am still learning is that I have believed a multitude of lies, not just about my art but about many facets of my life. These lies lead me to question myself and my God. I begin to think that I am not enough, that I don’t have anything to offer, or that God can’t use me.
I am not the only one to believe these lies. I know no one really escapes the doubt we allow to seep into our lives, even in small ways, but it threatens to dull our spirit. It holds up back from reaching our God given potential. It is a trick of the enemy and it works exceptionally well.
We wonder if we have value, if our ideas will work, and if we ought to just give up. I have heard it said by many an author and many a speaker – but we have to stop listening to those lies. We have to find out what the word of God says about who we are, and who He is, and what truth that means for our lives. We have to know and understand the gifts He has given us so we can use them. We were created for a purpose and not one of us is exempt. Not one of us gets to hide under the cloak of not good enough. Jesus makes us good enough. Period. You are needed, your gifts are needed, and no one else can be you. Be you, and let God worry about how all the pieces work together.
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