Stand Out

I used to walk through the halls of school with my knees bent, shoulders slouched & head down. I was taller than most & I literally wanted to shrink away & blend in. I believed the names they called me, I believed the lies they said of me. They called me half breed, oreo, mutt, misfit, reject. They said I was worthless, incapable, hopeless.  

I thought if I kept quiet no one would notice me. If I could blend in, say what everyone else says, do what everyone else does, dress like everyone else dresses, then they wouldn’t see me. I hid my talent, hid my beauty, hid my gifting. The problem was, I still stood out. I stood out in college, I stood out in my career, I still stand out.  But now, I don’t try to hide it. Boy, if I had a dollar for how many times I said “I wish I knew then, what I know now.”  

I wish I knew that my conception & birth may have been an accident with my parents but my God intentionally created me. I wish I knew that just because someone has the audacity to say it doesn’t make it true. I wish I knew that God called me & set me apart even before I was born. I wish I knew that God made me to shine, like a city set on a hill. 

Sometimes we try to fit in because we believe the lie that we’re not enough. Maybe you think you’re not smart enough, not strong enough, not pretty enough. Sometimes we try to fit in because we think our uniqueness is a weakness, but our uniqueness is a strength. It’s what makes you, you. It’s what sets you apart. So your skin is lighter or darker, so your hair is fine or coarse, so your family is rich or poor, so your frame is short or tall, so your style is quirky, your ideas are far out, you laugh when no one else does, you dance off beat… But can I tell you from experience…God didn’t create you to fit in, he created to stand out. When everyone else is saying go left, you can point them in the right direction. When everyone else is stuck on the same problem, you can see the solution. When others see the negative, you can see the positive. Now pull those shoulders back & pick that head up…the world doesn’t need another duplicate, the world needs you.  

Stop trying so hard to fit in, God’s called you to stand out.