A devotional by Heidy De La Cruz
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” – Psalm 139:14 (NIV)
The beautiful young poet, Amanda Gorman, performed for the United States Presidential Inauguration in January. As a poet myself, I fell in love with her words immediately.
Toward the end of the night, she had an interview. After the interview, my husband turned to me and told me, “That could be you one day.” He meant that I could be asked to perform a poem for an inauguration.
I dismissed that thought and responded, “Who? Me? No, I’m not as good as her.” But what made me not as good as her? Or her better than me? Are we not both poets? Do we not both share the love of words? Why do we ultimately end up comparing ourselves to others? I am by no means dismissing her amazing talent. Amanda Gorman has a beautiful way with words. But instead of thinking, “If she can do it, so can I”, I thought, “I’m not good enough to do it.”
I love that my husband believes in me but why can’t I believe in myself just the same? We must remember that God made us all unique, with talents and gifts. We shouldn’t compare our talents with others because, although they may fall within the same field—in this case, writing—it doesn’t mean that all writers are the same. There are different styles and variations of writing. And this will attract different readers, which is okay. There is room for all of us.
Today it’s easier than ever to fall into the comparison rabbit hole with social media. We may think along these lines: This person has this many followers … this person posts this every so many days … Oh, this person is doing that and this person this … etc.
But these kind of thoughts are so toxic and so unhealthy for us. Unfortunately, many of us fall into that rabbit hole more than we’d like to admit, which is why I have a love/hate relationship with social media.
There is a beautiful reminder in the Bible found in Psalm 139:14 (NIV) and it happens to be one of my favorite verses. This scripture reads, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” This verse serves as my personal reminder that God made me the way I am for a reason. God shows me through this verse that I shouldn’t doubt my work, my gifts, or talents, because they were given to me for a purpose.
God also uses this verse to help me realize that I shouldn’t compare my work, my gifts, or talent, with anyone else’s because God has other purposes for them. God will provide opportunities just for me, at the right time.
Let’s Pray: Lord, thank You for our gifts and talents! I pray that whenever we fall into the habit of comparing ourselves to others, that we are reminded that You provide our gifts for a reason. I pray that we are always reminded that we are fearfully and wonderfully made and that You (God) make no mistakes. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.
~*~
Author Bio:
Hello, my name is Heidy (Reynoso) De La Cruz.
I am Dominican-American and I’m passionate about writing! I write poetry, encouraging blog posts about personal experiences and any message that God has stored in my heart. I am working on publishing my first poetry book.
First and foremost, I am a daughter of Jesus Christ. I am also a wife and a mother. I have my master’s degree in Healthcare Administration through Belhaven University’s online course. I have my bachelor’s degree in Science with the concentration of Psychology and Healthcare Administration.
I currently work in the medical field as a Medical Billing and Coding Specialist, and I’ve been in the medical field for the last six years. I love my career!
My hobbies include writing, reading, watching documentaries, listening to podcasts, traveling, and spending time with my family.
~*~
Connect with Heidy:
Blog: https://heidyreynoso.wordpress.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heidy.delacruz13/
Read my poetry on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heidyspoems/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/heidyreynoso13
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heidyreynoso13
I dismissed that thought and responded, “Who? Me? No, I’m not as good as her.” But what made me not as good as her? Or her better than me? Are we not both poets? Do we not both share the love of words? Why do we ultimately end up comparing ourselves to others? I am by no means dismissing her amazing talent. Amanda Gorman has a beautiful way with words. But instead of thinking, “If she can do it, so can I”, I thought, “I’m not good enough to do it.”
I love that my husband believes in me but why can’t I believe in myself just the same? We must remember that God made us all unique, with talents and gifts. We shouldn’t compare our talents with others because, although they may fall within the same field—in this case, writing—it doesn’t mean that all writers are the same. There are different styles and variations of writing. And this will attract different readers, which is okay. There is room for all of us.
Today it’s easier than ever to fall into the comparison rabbit hole with social media. We may think along these lines: This person has this many followers … this person posts this every so many days … Oh, this person is doing that and this person this … etc.
But these kind of thoughts are so toxic and so unhealthy for us. Unfortunately, many of us fall into that rabbit hole more than we’d like to admit, which is why I have a love/hate relationship with social media.
There is a beautiful reminder in the Bible found in Psalm 139:14 (NIV) and it happens to be one of my favorite verses. This scripture reads, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” This verse serves as my personal reminder that God made me the way I am for a reason. God shows me through this verse that I shouldn’t doubt my work, my gifts, or talents, because they were given to me for a purpose.
God also uses this verse to help me realize that I shouldn’t compare my work, my gifts, or talent, with anyone else’s because God has other purposes for them. God will provide opportunities just for me, at the right time.
Let’s Pray: Lord, thank You for our gifts and talents! I pray that whenever we fall into the habit of comparing ourselves to others, that we are reminded that You provide our gifts for a reason. I pray that we are always reminded that we are fearfully and wonderfully made and that You (God) make no mistakes. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.
~*~
Author Bio:
Hello, my name is Heidy (Reynoso) De La Cruz.
First and foremost, I am a daughter of Jesus Christ. I am also a wife and a mother. I have my master’s degree in Healthcare Administration through Belhaven University’s online course. I have my bachelor’s degree in Science with the concentration of Psychology and Healthcare Administration.
I currently work in the medical field as a Medical Billing and Coding Specialist, and I’ve been in the medical field for the last six years. I love my career!
My hobbies include writing, reading, watching documentaries, listening to podcasts, traveling, and spending time with my family.
~*~
Connect with Heidy:
Blog: https://heidyreynoso.wordpress.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heidy.delacruz13/
Read my poetry on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heidyspoems/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/heidyreynoso13
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heidyreynoso13
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.