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How often have you said, “Well, that’s just the way I am”? I would hate to count the number of times I’ve used that excuse for not being willing to change something about me that needed changing! One of the things Afton said that is very important is that even though she’s an introvert, there are times she has to push her limits and step out of her box.
Afton: And that’s a big part of it – recognizing that God needs to stretch me and I need to agree to be stretched. I can’t hide forever.
“Can’t hide forever.” I wonder if you’ve been trying to hide behind some excuse in order to avoid having to leave your comfortable spot and choose to get out of your comfort zone? I find that while God has gifted me in certain ways, and I enjoy operating in my gifted areas, I must frequently get out of that comfort zone and do things that don’t come easy. I find that it forces me to rely on the Lord more and pray more.
Afton is putting together a workshop titled “God’s Unfailing Love for Quiet Souls,” and I believe this is a timely topic. I asked her what she hopes her take away will be.
Afton: I’m hoping we’ll have a mix of introverts and extroverts, and together we can take a look at this quiet soul and see how can we in a ministry setting, in a work setting, draw out that voice? So, it’s not just a quiet workshop where we don’t talk but it will be a conversation back and forth and we can learn from each other. First Corinthians 12 talks about the body and how we have a hand and foot, we are different but we’re all part of the same body. That’s what I want to emphasize in this workshop. Just because you’re an introvert, you can’t say that you don’t belong to the Body of Christ, or because you’re an extrovert, you can’t say that you don’t belong. We need each other.
I want to encourage you to remember that as a Christ-follower, you are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, and if you’re an introvert, God created you that way for good reasons. And if you’re an extrovert like me, the same is true.