I’ve had stage fright since sixth grade. I also had a slight lisp and a stutter. As soon as I’m in front of a crowd, my hands shake and my back gets sweaty and my knees buckle. Sometimes I get dizzy, nauseous, light-headed, and feverish. Once I threw up a tuna sub from Subway five minutes before speaking. Another time, ten minutes before a Sunday service, I had a meltdown and called my mom and told her that I quit life (seriously). She convinced me in nine minutes to go out there and kick butt.

I don’t know why God would appoint me to do something that’s totally against my nature. Maybe He’s just funny that way. But every time, I’m humbled by the privilege that I get to speak to other struggling human beings and that they would even give me the time of day. I’ve tried to never take this task lightly, and I never want to take it for granted. It’s a big deal to share life, faith, hurts, and this wonderful journey together. It still makes me nervous to speak, but I’ll gladly endure it for the sake of proclaiming grace, truth, and the love of God.

You might have been given a tough task: but stay humble, be thankful, and persevere. If God has gifted you, run with it all the way and let God take care of the rest. Amazing things happen when you tackle fear to the floor and let yourself out to play.

— J