Over twenty-six years ago, when I was pregnant with Rebecca, a dear family friend gave me a really special gift. On the surface, it doesn’t seem special, but over the years, it has become a cherished item in our family. It’s an item that is used several times a year but only on special occasions – typically birthdays. It’s a reminder that each of us has something to offer, that each of us is unique, that we are all special.
This simple plate that says, You are special today, has made an appearance at occasion after occasion throughout the girls lives. Using it has become a time-honored, beloved tradition in our house. Everyone knows that the table is not completely set unless the plate is in its proper place at the seat of the guest of honor.
It might seem silly, but you see, it’s about so much more than a plate.
Every day, we are bombarded with messages that we are not good enough. Girls, boys, children, young adults, even older adults are all told in many ways that we need to try harder, go farther, be better, score higher, be thinner, be more athletic, be smarter, be whatever it is that is more than we are. We are all told that we aren’t pretty enough, intelligent enough, skinny enough. We aren’t special unless we are extraordinary.
The truth is: you are enough.
Whatever you are right now is enough.
You should never be judged by the way you look, the grades you get, how many goals you score, or how fast you can run. You should be judged only by the person you are inside. You. Just you. Nobody else but you.
Because you are special.
You only need to be the person God meant for you to be. You are already special. You don’t have to meet other people’s expectations as long as you are meeting His. Are you doing His will? Are you following His plan? Are you pursuing His goals for you? Are you reaching higher and trying harder in the areas He he wants you to be good at?
This means, are you kind? Are you patient? Are you loving? Do you give of yourself to others? Do you help those in need? Do you share what you have with those who don’t have all that you have? Are you honest? Do you use your talents for good? Are you working everyday to make the world around you a better place?
It’s so sad that we in live in a world where we constantly need to be reminded of how wonderful we are, that each of of us has something to give, something to share, something to teach. If only every child could grow up with a reminder that they matter, that their life means something, that someone cares about them, what a different world we would live in. If only everyone knew just how special they are, perhaps there would be more peace and harmony in the world.
Think about what kind of world this would be if everyone was told over and over in their lives that they are special. They have something the world needs. They have a God-given talent that only they can use in the way He intends for them to use it. They are being celebrated this day and every day just because of who they are. Can you imagine what a difference that would make in everyone’s lives?
When we found out that Rebecca was expecting and planned to make the announcement on her birthday, I knew exactly what gift I wanted to give her. I wanted it to be something that she would use, something that would be important to her and her family, something that would be meaningful throughout her child’s life. I wanted my grandchild to be taught the same lesson that my children were taught over and over when they were growing up. I want them all to know that they are special. Just because they are.
Come see Amy on one of these dates:
April 9, 2022 – First Landing Wine and Arts Festival, St. Clement’s Island Museum, Clements, MD
April 23, 2022 – A Day of Wine and Roses Book Festival, Brook Hollow Winery, Columbia, NJ
June 4, 2022 – Christ Church 350th Anniversary Fair, Broomes Island, MD
June 18, 2022 – SunDial Books, Chincoteague, VA – The Launch of My New Chincoteague Trilogy!
June 19, 2022 – Saints Peter and Paul Communion Brunch, Saints Peter and Paul Church, Easton, MD
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What I was writing about one year ago this week: Better than Chuck E. Cheese.
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Amy Schisler is an award-winning author of both children’s books and sweet, faith-filled romance novels for readers of all ages. She lives with her husband and three daughters on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Her books, Picture Me, Whispering Vines, and Island of Miracles are all recipients of Illumination Awards, placing them among the top inspirational fiction books of 2015, 2016, and 2017. Whispering Vines was awarded the 2017 LYRA Award for the best romance of 2016. The Good Wine, the sequel to Whispering Vines was released in June of 2021. Island of Miracles has outsold all of Amy’s other books worldwide and ranked as high as 600 on Amazon. Her follow up, Island of Promise is a reader favorite. Amy’s children’s chapter book is The Greatest Gift, and her most recent suspense novel is Summer’s Squall.
Amy’s second book in the Chincoteague Island Trilogy, Island of Promise, was awarded First Prize by the Oklahoma Romance Writer’s Association as the best Inspirational Romance of 2018 and was awarded a Gold Medal in the Independent Publisher Book Awards 2019 for Inspirational Fiction. It is the 2019 winner for Best Inspirational Fiction in the RWA Golden Quill Contest, Best Romance in the American Book Awards, and a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Award of Fiction. Amy’s 2019 work, The Devil’s Fortune, a finalist in the Writer’s Digest Self-Publishing Awards and winner of an Illumination Award, is based, in part, on Amy’s family history. The third book in Amy’s Chincoteague Island Trilogy, Island of Hope, was released in August of 2019. Amy’s book, Desert Fire, Mountain Rain begins her new Buffalo Springs series. Book two, Under the Summer Moon, was released in December of 2021.
You may follow Amy on Facebook at http://facebook.com/amyschislerauthor, Twitter @AmySchislerAuth, Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/amyschisler and at http://amyschislerauthor.com.
Amy’s books: Crabbing With Granddad (2013), A Place to Call Home (2014), Picture Me (2015), Whispering Vines (2016), Island of Miracles (2017), Stations of the Cross Meditations for Moms (2017), The Greatest Gift (2017), Summer’s Squall (2017), Island of Promise (2018), The Devil’s Fortune (2019), Island of Hope (2019), A Devotional Alphabet (2019), Desert Fire, Mountain Rain(2020), The Good Wine (2021), Under the Summer Moon (2021).
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