Who you are is unique in this world. What you have to give can only be given by you. There is a role only you can fill. The question becomes, are you holding out on us? Seriously, are you holding back that which you were created to be? Are you robbing us of who you really are and what you can really do? Is your family lacking what you were positioned to give?

Yesterday in our celebration of episode 1000, Lonnie said it, but maybe you missed it in the mix of everything. So, let me say it again … There is something only you can bring to the world and your family. Don’t let them miss out on what you are supposed to bring.

If you’re going to a family dinner and everyone is assigned a dish, that means you’re supposed to bring your thing. Your thing. And if you don’t bring your thing, that thing is missing. I mean dang what if you’re the potatoes, now dinner has no potatoes. That’s a crisis. Even worse, what if you’re the joy. If you don’t show up with joy, the whole family is missing it. What if you are the one supposed to bring the peace, or the organization, or the unity, or the entertainment, or the compassion, but you sit this one out. Everything just goes to heck. Why? Because you didn’t bring what you’re supposed to bring.

You are who you are by design. Your personality, your tendencies, your attributes, your talents, your soft spots, your strengths, these are all part of who you are. I’m not talking about your bad moods and your side trips to funky town you get in. No, that’s not who you are. That may be the choices you’ve been making, but that’s not you at your core.

The real you was placed exactly where you are, in this exact place and time in history, to bring what you have to the table of life. And sister, if you’re not bringing it, it’s missing. Dang it girl, your family needs you to show up with what you have. Your work needs you to show up with what you have. Your community needs you to show up with what you have. Your whole world needs exactly what you have.

But maybe you’ve dismissed what you have. You’ve looked around at what a few other people have to bring and you’ve assumed a lesser than position of importance. Someone else may bring the T-bone steak, and I may bring the delicious pie, and that makes you feel like your potatoes are small potatoes, so you don’t even bring them. But do you know how much this girl loves potatoes? Do you know I only get potatoes on holidays? I want your dang potatoes, no matter how small they are!

YOU ARE NEEDED! What you have to bring is needed.

Check this out. Romans 1:20 says “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”

We can look at the wide open star filled sky, the majestic purple mountains, the deep turquoise waters, the gentle downpour of rain, the powerful flash of lightening, and we see God’s invisible qualities. To see his creation around us is to see God’s power and divine nature. These are his invisible qualities.

What about his visible ones? What about his joy that lights up an entire room? What about his love that reaches to the ones hiding in the corners? What about his attention to detail that makes everything flow? What about his wisdom that understands how things work? What about his creativity that brings life to what was once boring?

Ahhhhh, this is where you and I come in!!!!!

Genesis 1:27 “So God created human beings in his own image.”

That’s me and that’s you, made in the image of God. What does that mean? It doesn’t mean God is like us in human form. It means we each have a quality of Him! Ding ding ding … it’s the God quality you carry within you that you’re supposed to be bringing to the table!

What quality of God is in you? Really, have you thought about that? What did God put within you with the intention of having you share it with your world?

If you don’t know, have you thought about asking him?

I have spent most of my life dismissing anything I could possibly bring. I’m just an ordinary small-town girl with no formal training. I have a unique way of twisting words and saying things I shouldn’t say. I laugh at inappropriate things, and typically those inappropriate things just came out of my mouth, so that’s why I’m laughing. How could God possibly use what I have for anything good? How could who I am show the tangible qualities of God?

But once I stopped dismissing myself and started believing maybe I have been chosen for a special role in God’s good plans, I began to see. Oh holy balls, would you look at that … I’m the most ridiculously peppy morning person you’ve ever encountered … I could bring joy to people’s mornings. I have the unique ability to turn everything into a fun adventure … I could lead people in adventures. My mind immediately digs for the positive, flips every worst case scenario upside down and finds the best, and dwells in a continual state of gratitude … I could teach others this positive perspective and help them change their habits.

It’s the things you do naturally without thinking or probably even training, that reveal the image of God you’ve been trusted to carry. And girl, if you’re not carrying it, then it’s missing from the table.

God created you to carry a special piece of his image. Now he’s perfectly positioned you here to bring what you have been given. It may seem insignificant to you because it’s just who you are … but who you are is what we need! Who you are is what you were created to be.

My husband is naturally a big picture thinker. That used to just annoy the crap out of me because I want to just start doing the thing already, but he’s making a detailed plan of every step first. I’m learning to calm the heck down and let him be the image of God he is created to be. God is a big picture thinker. God is a planner. God is a step by step creator. And I have the image of that quality of God as my partner! I can honor that! I can appreciate that! I can see the God qualities in him coming out through who he naturally is and what he’s good at.

Nicole is a member of my team who has the God quality of faithful attention to detail. Gosh, I’m grateful for her place in my life. She has what I do not have. Jennifer is a member of my team who has the God quality of understanding how things work and the patience to build great things. The image of God she carries is so needed at my table! Jody is a member of my team who has the God quality of faithfulness in fitness and health. Yeah, that’s a thing y’all! And she shares that quality with me to make me a better version of myself. Jessica is a member of my team who has the God quality of connection. She’s a connector of people, a giver of life, and I reap the benefits of the image which she carries when she shows up at my table.

You carry a specific image of God. A quality he has given you to bring to the tables of life around you. What you have is needed. What you have is unique. You’ve been dismissing it as unimpressive and unimportant, but girl my bread needs butter. If you’re butter, I want you at my table even if you’re not a main dish!

What did God put within you with the intention of having you share it with your world? There is something only you can bring to the world and your family. Don’t let them miss out on what you are supposed to bring. I carry the image of fun, the image of pep, and the image of creativity to show God to my world. That’s what I bring to the table, and I’ve decided I won’t downplay that for one more day. I’m bringing it to share because it’s what God created me to do. Now figure out what image of God you carry and bring it! This is the image of God you were created in, and it’s for a purpose!