A few years ago, I started a blog. I struggled with why I should have a blog when there were already so many great ones out there. I also write music. I have also wondered why I have such an urge to write new songs when there are so many great songs that already exist.
I was blessed to be able to be at an event in Nashville, Tennessee a few years ago where I sat under Jennie Lee Riddle as she spoke into hundreds of songwriters just like myself. What I was feeling must be a common thing for people who feel the need to create because she spoke straight to that question.
She acknowledged the fact that there is nothing new under the sun. We won’t be able to say anything that has not already been said. However, what we can do is say things from our perspective. There has never been a person who has had the past experiences with the same people that another person has had. Therefore, one person could say something one way and then another person could say the same exact thing but it would come out totally different because of who they are and the things that have shaped them into that person.
I also sat in a class just a couple months ago for some vocal training and the instructor said something that backed this up even more. She said, “sound is determined by the shape it comes out of. You’re the only person that can make the sound that comes out of you.” She went on to explain that no two people on this earth have the same exact shaped head with the same sized mouth and everything that makes up a person’s sound. Therefore, there is no one on this earth that can make the sound that is intended to come from your mouth.
My husband is a pastor and he has preached before that unity does not equal uniformity. My sound will not be exactly like yours, but we can work together for the same cause to make Jesus known and glorified.
You have a unique sound — a unique calling. It is yours and no one but you can do what you’ve been called to do!
People say all the time that if you quit your job, they will just find someone else to do it because we are all replaceable. Well, here’s the thing. That may be true in a job but it most definitely is not true in your personal life.
Have you ever noticed, in the church, when someone who regularly comes stops coming, it just feels different? People ask where that person is and it just feels like something is missing. That’s because it is. Even if they didn’t realize it, they were changing the atmosphere just by being there. Now that they’re not coming, it is noticed and felt.
Also, as a mom, daughter, and wife. I try my best to be at as many of my son’s sporting events as I can. I also try to be there to pick my daughter up from gymnastics because at the end of class, they lift the garage door and for about the last five minutes of class, I get to watch what she’s learned that day. I would try to be at anything they choose to do because I love and support them. They know that I’m not always able to be at every single thing and they’re okay with that. However, they know that if there’s any way possible for me to be there, I will be there cheering them on.
I want to think that my presence is showing them that I care about them and that I take interest in the things that are important to them. When I see them glance up after they do something to see if I was watching, I know it does. This was confirmed just a couple days ago at my daughters gymnastics class when a little girl walked over to the door as her mother was talking to someone else and she said, “Mom, you ain’t watching me”. Ha! My kids love it when other people come to watch them as well but I know that no one else can take my place. I have a reserved spot as their mother and no matter who else is there, if I’m not, there’s a void that can only be filled by me.
It doesn’t change as we get older. I can do something good and hear a hundred people tell me that I did a good job. But to hear my parents or my husband tell me that I did good, it just can’t be replaced. It can’t be replaced because no one else can fulfill their roles in who they are to me.
I heard someone say before that God has called each one of us to do something and He expects us to do it. Nothing more and nothing less, but He does expect us to fulfill the calling that He has placed on each of our lives.
So maybe God has called you to go to another country and preach the gospel. More than likely He hasn’t. He may be calling you to be a stay at home mother and teach your kids about Jesus. Or just to take your neighbor a meal, or call a friend to show them that you care about them and love them. Or to pray for a stranger. If you neglect your calling because you don’t think it’s as great as someone else’s, even if you choose to do something that you think is bigger and better, then you have failed.
I pray that we can all recognize the value in the small things and know that if God is calling us to do something, even if it doesn’t seem all that great to you, it is significant.
The world needs you to use your gifts for the kingdom of God. Your story, mistakes and all, can and will become a part of your testimony if you allow it to. It matters and can change peoples lives. I’ve heard it said that God has his own economy and nothing is wasted in it. So if you write, do it for the glory of God. If you paint, do it for the glory of God. Whatever you do, don’t let anyone silence the voice that God has placed in you.
Telina Frye is the author of Dare to Dream, as well as a pastor’s wife and mother to her 13 year old son and 10 year old daughter.
She is a singer/songwriter and a natural born dreamer. Telina is also credentialed in the Church of God as an Exhorter and holds a Minister of Music License. She serves as the worship leader at the church where her husband serves as lead pastor.
Telina loves having deep, meaningful conversations about what is and what could be. She hopes this blog will inspire readers to dare to look past what is, see what can be, and reach for the impossible.
by leaps and bounds 