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Are you an introvert? If so, have you felt like that is a handicap for you?
I’m going to share a recent conversation with an introvert—a good friend of mine—Afton Rorvik. I asked her to offer some encouragement for other introverts. She is going to be covering this in a workshop in our upcoming 32nd Annual Weekend Getaway, April 17–19, 2020, and I wanted her to give you some nuggets from that session.
I asked her how she has come to understand and appreciate her introversion.
Afton: It’s been a journey for me, learning that I’m this introvert, and I suppose I should define that before we jump in. An introvert is someone who is energized by quiet. So that means that quiet acts like gasoline for a car for me. When I’m worn out, that’s what I need. And an extrovert is someone who is energized by people. In typical introvert fashion, I’ve done a lot of reading and learning—that’s what introverts do—and it’s been a really good journey over the last few years. I’m learning that God didn’t make a mistake when he made me an introvert. I don’t have to be like my extroverted friends. I can be who God created me to be.
The truth that I wrestled with the most was that God created me to be a quiet person, but he also created me to connect with other people. As a Christian I can’t crawl into my basement, put a blanket over my head, and say, “Go away, I’m an introvert.” God wants me to reach out and connect. So, realizing as an introvert I can connect with people—in different ways than an introvert, but in good ways.
Afton’s journey is not unlike a lot of us—coming to the place where you appreciate God’s creativity in you, and you recognize that it is good! It took me far too many years to understand that God’s creativity in me was good. That is not pride; that is giving God glory for his workmanship. Read that verse, Ephesians 2:10, repeat it daily—You have all that you need in Jesus. He will meet your needs.