For four days last week, two of my children and I were immersed in the world of homeschool speech and debate. My daughter commented that one of the things that inspired her was that, regardless of level of polish, each and every one of the roughly 250 students who attended this national open tournament was not afraid to stand up and speak in front of others. Considering that statistics say ninety-five percent of adults wouldn't take the podium if offered it, this was an amazing group of young people. I sat back in awe as I marveled at their poise and professionalism, the likes of which many people twice their age are still lacking. Some of them conducted themselves more like mastered-degreed executives than junior high and high school students.
How in the world did they come to be this way? There may be a rare few who were born with a desire to speak. Most of the others, though, came to this point, I believe, as a result of essential encouragement. Public speaking hasn't always been within their comfort zones.
My daughter's story goes like this. Back in 2006, I read about an oratory contest sponsored by the Optimist Club. When I mentioned it to Megan, she promptly responded that there was no way she could write a speech that long (four to five minutes). She surprised herself when her first draft was at least three times too long. When she got it cut down to appropriate length, she still wasn't sure, though, that she could get up to deliver it--live and memorized.
But my philosophy on these things has always been that the only thing you can know for sure is that you never know until you try. Well, she made it--through three levels of competition before getting beat. But never-mind winning or losing. She was hooked on public speaking. When she had a message that came from her heart, she found she could face her fears.
The thing was, though, that she might never have done it at all without me essentially insisting she give it one try. I never insisted that she do more than that. I let her know I believed she could do it, even if she didn't believe it yet herself. I knew that partly because my own mom had done the same for me. Thank you, Mom!
The encouragement to try something new is truly essential for our children. Too often their limited perspective prevents them from envisioning themselves doing--at all--a particular thing that lies outside their comfort zones, or it at least prevents them from envisioning success at it. They might never discover a real passion for something without that essential encouragement to give something new a try, and without someone to encourage them in it.
The ticket out of our comfort zones often starts with a simple, little push and a healthy dose of encouragement. And if that something new is clearly in line with the Lord's calling for His ambassadors, we can also be sure of His presence and enabling power.
Besides that, if all we undertake is for His glory anyway, then the pressure to personally succeed, by the culture's standard, is completely lifted off our shoulders. It's not just about winning or losing. The outcome is in the Lord's hands. We just need to be willing. "Lord, we want to honor You above all in this. Teach us what You want us to learn in it, and make us a blessing to others through it." That's been our approach to speech and debate.
For your family, it may not speech or debate, but something else. I happen to believe that speaking skills are essential tools in the leader's toolbox, so I admit I am rather partial to speech activities, but in whatever new thing we or our children may be called to try, we can rest knowing that the ultimate outcome is in God's hands. Our God, who does infinitely beyond what we could ever ask or think, just may have plans to use us for His glory in an area that we could never have imagined. With that perspective, taking a step outside our comfort zones to try something new, for the sake of becoming a better equipped ambassador--or in some other way for the Kingdom of God, is not only the obvious path to choose, but it's really not so risky after all.
"Now to Him who is able to do
far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think,
according to the power that works within us,
to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
to all generations forever and ever.
Amen."
Ephesians 3:20-21
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