You Are Enough

“Sam, you were born enough. And your, what we consider your handicap, is your gift. You understand me? You are enough.” 

These are the words that Lionel Ritchie so beautifully articulated last night at the conclusion of the performance of 28-year-old Sam Finelli. [find Finelli’s full performance below, Ritchie’s words come just past the 6 minute mark]

Finelli was auditioning for American Idol and shared with the judges a piece of his journey as a high-functioning autisitic child. Finelli said he never really fit in as a child and always knew he was different. He said music was his best friend growing up.

Ritchie’s words pierced me. You. Are. Enough. 

Have you ever felt ostracized? On the outside looking in? Like you’ll never rise to where ‘they’ are?

We. Are. Enough.

Why can this simple truth be so hard for us to convince ourselves?!

We don’t have to be drop-dead gorgeous or filthy rich. Notice the oxymorons there?

There isn’t a check-list in life making sure we fill all the perfect squares by a given time. My Type-A Enneagram 3 personality sometimes wishes there was but, how freeing is it to know there is not!?

 The accolades we create in society surely set us up for failure, don’t they?! 

Co to college. Get a great job. Get married. Have children. Be successful. 

While there’s nothing wrong with any of these… Not everyone’s path looks the same. We don’t all have the same timeline. 

We might be running but not necessarily the same race. Different terrains, different completion goals, different habits. Some are strolling around the neighborhood. Some are doing a 5K. Some are going for the half and full marathons. Some are still looking for their running shoes…

We all come with baggage, brokenness, chaos, pride. We come with stories, experiences, feelings, advantages, and disadvantages. As Ritchie noted for Finelli, our differences can be our gifts. 

Despite all our believed “short-comings”, we are enough. 

Isn’t that what Christ tells us?

2nd Corinthians 12:9-10 reads:

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 

I don’t know who needs to hear this reminder today… but despite your fears, worries, confusions, doubts, regrets, and failures… know this: YOU ARE ENOUGH! 

You may look different, act differently, aspire for different things in life than your neighbor. There’s a reason God make us perfectly in His likeness. We weren’t meant to be cookie-cutter people. 

We were made to do great things! 

Write this on your bathroom mirror: You are enough. 

Write this in your planner today: You are enough. 

Write a sticky note and put it on your fridge: You are enough. 

The next time you pay a restaurant bill, leave your waiter the reminder: You are enough. 

Pass along this blog to someone who needs to hear: You are enough. 

I don’t know about you, but those 3 words sure are powerful. We don’t have to look a certain way, have a certain job, make a certain salary, have a certain personality, be a certain person. 

God created us beautifully and perfectly. Flaws and all. 

So, when you lay your head down tonight, despite what the day ahead may bring. Don’t forget to remind yourself: You. Are. Enough. 

And, what a beautiful reminder those words do bring!

 

Words by Karsyn King

Avid Listener, Pro-Costco Sampler, Believer