You are seated at a reserved round table in the back of the large and freezing banquet hall. You're trying your best to stay warm and stop your teeth from chattering, but the nerves don't help with that. You aren't listening to the person in the front because it's almost time and you're reading your notes. You hear the clapping ensue, so you slowly walk from the back of the room along the wall to the stage where a giant picture of youself is up on the projector. The room is silent, except for your heels on the stairs. The silence continues as you place your notes on the podium and begin your timer. You look up to see 350 people staring at you and all of a sudden the nerves vanish and you start speaking.
The scenario I just described happened to me last Saturday as I was asked to speak at a conference in Atlanta. The conference was for caregivers, living donors, and recipients of hearts, livers, and kidneys. I have taken some public speaking classes before and delivered some speeches, but none as personal as my story of living donation in front of a crowd of 350 people I did not know (excluding my parents, of course). As you can imagine, this experience was quite new for me.
But giving a speech is so much more than reading your outline and your notes; it's about connecting with your audience and giving them something to remember. I hope that the people in attendance got more than just a glimpse into my life in the year 2015, but a spark of hope for their life and the life of their family because of God's grace as He provides for His people again and again.
I am proud to say that I did not cry- well, yes, I did have to stop myself for a few seconds when I got a little choked up, but I carried on. It was at this moment when I looked up at the various donors, recipients, and caregivers with tears in their eyes that I had to avert eye contact. That moment was humbling; it was a reminder that I needed: Our lives are so much bigger than what happens to us. It's that reminder that as children of God we are used as His vessels to ultimately tell His story.
I cannot put into words how special it was to meet the father of a living donor who gifted me with a symbolic pin and then to meet the kidney recipient and her family. It's these moments when I get glimpses of how the Lord is using the people around me to further His Kingdom. These glimpses show us how amazing His grace and sovereignty is.
So keep telling those stories that show what He is doing, whether it's in the form of a speech or just in an intimate conversation. His people will be used to glorify Him.