Allow Me to Introduce Myself...
I remember looking up my name as a child, hoping to find some great, deep meaning behind it. But there it read, in black and white:
Heath-er (noun): a low-growing shrub; a common rapidly growing weed.
Bummer.
Thankfully, I eventually found someone who put a much more positive spin on things, defining Heather as “a beautiful blossoming flower.” Naturally, I’ve chosen to claim that description as my own.
And that’s pretty much me in a nutshell.
There’s nothing extraordinary about me, no grand story. I’m just an ordinary girl who loves people and has picked up a few random skills and life lessons over the years.
But in Christ, I somehow become a “blossoming flower.” In Him, I find purpose and joy in the mundane, everyday life.
And I really get kick out of helping other ordinary people shine as they discover their uncommon purpose.
There’s a certain passage of Scripture that has always been particularly meaningful for me. Just before this passage, God had informed Moses that He wanted to use him to play a pretty important role in His story by leading the Israelites out of slavery and into the Promised Land. Then Moses, ever the humble guy, had this back-and-forth argument with God about his inadequacy for the job at hand.
“Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”
So the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.” ”
Wow! Think of all we know about Moses, and what an incredible legacy he left. Yet he nearly blew it all by thinking he was just too plain to do much good.
Just like Moses, God made me, and He made you – weaknesses and all.
We may not be that extraordinary on our own, but He created us exactly the way He wanted us to be, to to use us for some pretty incredible things. There’s nothing I’m good at, and certainly nothing I’m terrible at, that surprises my Creator. The Great I Am created me to be who I am… on purpose.
I’m not called to be special or to be perfect – because I wasn’t designed to do this on my own. And neither are you. We’re in this together, filling in each other's gaps. Plus, we’ve got God on our side. “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10)
It's pretty great when we finally come to grips with our plain-ness. We can stop pretending to have it all together. Instead, we can walk with Him, hand-in-hand, enjoying the journey and trusting Him with our wholehearted obedience.
That is my purpose. That is my greatest joy. Pretty plain and simple.
About Heather M. Day
My loves and the stars of my blog (whether or not they choose to be): Robert, Emma and Jackson
Heather M. Day is an author and communication specialist with more than 20 years of experience in the fields of marketing, communications, and nonprofit ministry. She is the author of Money and Spirit: Surrendering Our Finances to the Work of the Holy Spirit.
Heather has spent the bulk of her career in the nonprofit arena, including in her current role as Director of Marketing for Barnabas Foundation. She also served as Director of Marketing Communications for Olivet Nazarene University, Director of Communications for Lead Like Jesus, and Creative Services Coordinator for Bible League International. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications and an Executive MBA from Olivet Nazarene University.
Heather and her husband, Robert, reside in Illinois with their two children, Emma and Jackson. She is an active member, board member and volunteer leader in her local church.