On October 5, 2024, I had the incredible honor of speaking to a group of women at my church in Pennsylvania. The topic I chose for my speech was "Living into Resiliency." I wanted to share insights from my own journey to help others recognize the resilience they already possess within themselves.
Now, let me tell you, I had been planning this speech for over three months, and honestly, it felt like a real struggle to pull everything together. Every time I sat down to outline my thoughts, I found myself staring at a blank page, unsure of how to condense my life story into a meaningful forty-minute conversation. It was frustrating! On the morning of the speech, I thought I could whip up a quick PowerPoint to keep me on track. Why I thought I could do that after months of struggling with the content in just a few hours, I still can’t figure out! But I went for it. I managed to throw together a few slides before diving into my daily chores. Then, as luck would have it, I checked my computer and—poof!—my PowerPoint had deleted itself! All of it! Panic set in. I worried I would go over time or that my thoughts wouldn’t flow, and I felt completely underprepared.
You might be wondering, “How can you be underprepared for a talk about your own life?” And that’s a fair question! But I felt unsteady because I wasn’t sure what specific experiences I wanted to share or how to weave them together in a way that made sense. I still had that nagging feeling of being unprepared, even though I had so much to say.
Once I stood in front of the group, though, something shifted. I began to feel at ease and realized I was more than qualified to be there—maybe even overqualified! As I spoke, it hit me that the deleted PowerPoint was a blessing in disguise. Without it, I was free to share what was truly on my heart. If I had stuck to my slides, I might not have connected as deeply with the women in the room because I would have been too focused on sticking to my outline.
What really struck me during my talk was the connections I made with individuals in the audience. I’d make eye contact with someone, and suddenly, my next words seemed to resonate with what God wanted to share with them. It made the whole experience flow beautifully. To be honest with you, I hate being the center of attention. It makes me so uncomfortable to share just about my own life. So when I would feel God speaking directly to one person or to a few people watching on, I felt God shining. It felt more like I was the vessel and He was the object being shown. Nevertheless, He kept reminding me that I was qualified to do this work and that He was pleased with me doing so.
So, let me ask you this: What areas in your life do you feel underprepared in? And what areas do you feel overly qualified? How can you bring those together for your next step forward?
