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To catch up a tiny bit, we have experienced several momentous changes in our family this past year. Last November, our oldest daughter was married to a beautifully-hearted young man right here in our home by her daddy. It was a labor of love to prepare for this special day, and having the ceremony in our home was a precious, intimate experience that we will all remember for a lifetime.
This past summer, we helped move my parents 1,200 miles from Colorado to the mid-west. It is currently a sweet time in the life of our family, and my growing-up-too-quickly kids are soaking up the days having their grandparents right around the corner. There is a whole lot of good-old-fashioned spoiling going on doused with buckets of extra laughter. The past year has gifted us precious family treasures, and we do not to take a single moment for granted.
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There have been many things I have processed these past twelve months. There is one thing that has recently percolated to the surface. I am identifying that it might be a contributor to one of the reasons I haven't written. You see, I am quite ORDINARY. There isn't really anything about me that stands out in the crowd. My life is probably considered quite mundane to most. The days are so similar that they run together, and as a busy, homeschooling, stay-at-home mama, I don't really get out of the house as much as I would like to, need to, or should. I don't have any outstanding gifts or talents. Someone else will always be better, faster, stronger, prettier, wiser, smarter, more successful, more capable, more talented, more, more, more. But you know what? It's okay! So often, ordinary people are dismissed, marginalized, or ignored. I am SHOUTING this from the ROOFTOPS that this is a monumental mistake. We ALL have our own beauty to offer, and only you can offer your kind of beautiful to the world, and only I can offer my kind of beautiful.
WE ALL HAVE BEAUTY TO OFFER EACH OTHER.
You don't have to be the best at something to be able to offer it as a gift to someone else. Since when did we believe we were worthless if we weren't the best? Our streets, stores, churches, businesses, schools, and homes are full of ordinary people that have tucked their beauty away because they don't think it is worth offering. I am here today to tell you to stop being afraid, dig deep, be brave. Uncover the gift you might be hiding and share it with someone else. If you are a baker, bake cookies for your neighbor. If you sing, sing a song to a loved one. If you are an encourager, speak your uplifting words over those who need your truth. If you paint, paint your joy and share it with a friend. If you are a teacher, teach. If you are a writer, write. If you are a server, serve.
YOU ARE THE ONLY ORDINARY PERSON THAT CAN DO THESE THINGS IN YOUR VERY OWN WAY, AND THAT MAKES YOU EXTRAORDINARY.
Let's all choose to take the time to make the world brighter by putting a little bit more of our extraordinary in it.
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