One of Sharon Jaynes’s greatest joys is watching God change the lives of women. And oh, how many lives she has seen transformed in 25 years of ministry. With the vulnerability of a friend and the heart of a teacher, Sharon gently encourages and equips women to live fully and without abandon in pursuit of God’s purpose. In her latest book, Enough, Sharon strips away the lies that tell us we aren’t good enough and reminds us we are exactly who the Creator made us to be. Come, take a seat on the farm’s front porch, and join me in welcoming Sharon…
One evening, while on getaway with my husband, Steve and I splurged at a fancy restaurant, complete with a four-man band playing music from the ’40s and ’50s.
We had taken a few ballroom dance lessons, and Steve was itching to see if we could remember the foxtrot.
“Come on, Sharon,” he urged. “Let’s take a spin on the dance floor.”
“No way,” I said. “Nobody else is dancing.
I’m not going to be the only one out there with everyone staring at me. And suppose we mess up? I’d be embarrassed.
It’s been a long time since we’ve practiced, and I don’t remember all the steps. Let’s wait until some other people are out there so we won’t be so conspicuous.”
After a few moments, the first couple took their place on the parquet. They squared their shoulders, pointed their toes, and framed their arms. In one fluid motion they graced the dance floor with perfect dips, sways, turns, and twirls. They looked good, and they knew it.
Nope. I was not going to embarrass myself. I hunkered down in my seat with renewed resolve. I was stuck there. I refused to budge.
Then couple number two joined couple number one. Their steps weren’t quite so perfect, but they looked pretty good too.
“Okay, I’ll go,” I said. “But let’s get in the back corner behind that big ficus tree so nobody can see us.”
Off we went to try to remember the slow-slow-quick-quick of the foxtrot. The whole time I was hoping all eyes were still mesmerized on the polished artistry of couple number one.
As I dared look at the crowd, I noticed they weren’t looking at couple number one, number two, or even wobbly kneed number three.
All eyes were fixed on a fourth couple approaching the dance floor. The husband was in a wheelchair.
He was a middle-aged, slightly balding, large-framed man with a neatly trimmed salt-and-pepper beard.
His dapper attire included a crisp white shirt, a snappy bow tie, and a stylish tuxedo. On his left hand he wore a white glove—I guessed to cover a skin disease.
With a smiling wife by his side, the couple approached the dance floor with a graceful confidence and fashionable flair.
Suddenly everyone else faded away, and they seemed to be the only two people in the room.
As the band churned out a peppy tune, the blithesome wife held her love’s healthy right hand and danced. He never rose from the wheelchair that had become his legs, but they didn’t seem to care.
They came together and separated like expert dancers. He spun her around as she stooped low to conform to her husband’s seated position.
Lovingly, like a little fairy child, she danced around his chair while her laughter became the fifth instrument in the musical ensemble. Even though his feet never left their metal resting place, his shoulders swayed in perfect time and his eyes danced with hers.
My heart was so moved by this love story unfolding before my eyes that I had to turn my head and bury my face on Steve’s chest so no one would see the tears streaming down my cheeks. As I did, I saw person after person dabbing linen napkins to dewy eyes.
This portrait of love and devotion transfixed even the band members, now misty-eyed as well.
Finally, the music slowed to a romantic melody. The wife pulled up a chair beside her husband’s wheelchair, but facing in the opposite direction. They held each other in a dancer’s embrace, closed their eyes, and swayed back and forth, cheek to cheek.
Surprisingly, I no longer worried about whether anyone was watching me.
I didn’t care if my steps weren’t perfect. I wasn’t even concerned about being compared to and falling short of perfect couple number one.
The Lord spoke to my heart in a powerful way. Sharon, I want you to notice who moved this crowd to tears, He seemed to say. Was it couple number one, with their perfect steps? Or was it the last couple that had no steps at all? No, My child, it was the display of love, not perfection, that moved the crowd. If you obey Me, if you do what I have called you to do, then I will do for you what that man’s wife did for him.
God isn’t looking for perfect people with perfect children, perfect marriages, and perfect lives.
He is not searching for men and women with perfect steps to do great things for Him.
He is looking for courageous believers who will rely on His power to work in and through them to accomplish all He has planned for them to do.He is scouting for followers who will obey Him regardless of their present fears or past failures.
He is looking for men and women who know they are good enough because of His power working in them and through them.
Simply put, God had sent me a lame man to teach me how to dance.
God chooses to do extraordinary work through ordinary people who will bring glory to His name.
Men and women who know they are not good enough in their own strength but are incredibly powerful in God’s strength, slay the giants of this world.
Sharon Jaynes is an inspirational speaker and Bible teacher. The author of 20 books, her passion is to encourage and empower women to walk in confidence as they grasp their true identity as children of God and co-heirs with Christ. She served for ten years as Vice President of Proverbs 31 Ministries, and is the co-founder of Girlfriends in God, Inc.
Do the voices in your head say you’re not good enough, smart enough, pretty enough…or just not enough, period? It’s time to stop listening to the lies and embrace the truth of who God says you are. Enough will help expose the lies that keep you bogged in shame, insecurity, and inadequacy, and replace those lies with the truth. Increase your confidence and grow your faith when you trade self-defeating thoughts for God’s truth. Today is the day to embrace your incredible worth as a woman who is uniquely fashioned and spiritually empowered—and discover you are Enough.
[ Our humble thanks to Harvest House for their partnership in today’s devotion ]
