It's all drama anyways
Hello, my name is Sydney and I am undeniably dramatic. Those of you who personally know me will read this, laugh, and probably recall an instance where I have been exceptionally dramatic and emotional. As I have mentioned many times before, I am moved to tears almost everyday over the smallest things like hearing an old Maroon 5 song or getting a good discount on clothes. This is just who I am. I've always been this way.
I can think of a million times where I have been made fun of for the way I handle my emotions. When I was younger, I used to get extensively hurt when someone would call me dramatic. In high school, it would anger me to the point of my face turning red and it would lead me to scream in my car when I was alone. I felt like people would discredit my opinion because of how dramatic I was and it made me feel small and unappreciated. To this day, people still call me dramatic but as of about two years ago, it doesn't affect me as much as it used to. Here's what changed: obviously I grew up and was able to learn how to process my emotions but what mainly changed was my perspective.
Two years ago, I was working at a summer camp and there was a special week where some kiddos were sent by the state to our camp because their home situation was less than ideal. For the majority of the kids, their week of camp was just simply a place to sleep for that week--heavy stuff, I know. So, there was one little camper who stole my heart and having to say goodbye to them completely tore me apart. I remember sitting on the porch talking and crying with one of my friends after the camper had left and I asked her "am I being dramatic?" I remember her response as if it was said yesterday. My friend laughed and said to me "it might be a little dramatic for some people but the Lord calls that empathy." Guys I tear up just thinking about that statement now. In that moment, the Lord spoke through my friend, crushed my insecurity right in front of my face, and made it a moment for His glory.
I had another similar situation in Costa Rica this past summer. Something had been bugging me and I asked one of the girls on the team if I was being dramatic (because even though that insecurity was spoken to at camp, insecurities have a funny way of always creeping back up again). My friend in Costa Rica responded with "yes, I might think this is a little dramatic but the Lord gave you those emotions for a reason. He gave you empathy. Ask Him how He wants you to serve Him with those emotions." Guys. The consistency of the Lord is hilarious to me. He never misses a beat.
Besides these two stories mentioned, there have been so many people say generally the same thing to me time and time again. Though I still get made fun of for being dramatic, the number of people who encourage me in my emotions is much larger than the number of people who make fun of me. Like I said, the Lord is consistent and the people I am surrounded by allow Him to speak through them. In fact, so many people have spoken empathy over me that it has become engraved on my heart. I was talking to a friend one evening and she was asking me if she was being dramatic, it was my knee-jerk response to say "your drama is empathy. it's not a bad thing." Empathy has now become a part of me and my ministry for the Lord.
So let me start this post over again. Hi my name is Sydney and I was blessed with empathy. I can relate to people well and I can use my emotions to comfort people. The Lord has made my heart to be in tune with the people around me and I can use this gift to draw people closer to Him. I am no longer nervous at the foot of this insecurity, rather, I stand on top of this insecurity and in the Lord's name, have conquered it.
So my prayer for you is that you listen to what the Lord is saying to you and ask Him how your insecurities can be used for His glory. Because the Lord can use anything and everything for His Glory.
In Christ,
Sydney
I can think of a million times where I have been made fun of for the way I handle my emotions. When I was younger, I used to get extensively hurt when someone would call me dramatic. In high school, it would anger me to the point of my face turning red and it would lead me to scream in my car when I was alone. I felt like people would discredit my opinion because of how dramatic I was and it made me feel small and unappreciated. To this day, people still call me dramatic but as of about two years ago, it doesn't affect me as much as it used to. Here's what changed: obviously I grew up and was able to learn how to process my emotions but what mainly changed was my perspective.
Two years ago, I was working at a summer camp and there was a special week where some kiddos were sent by the state to our camp because their home situation was less than ideal. For the majority of the kids, their week of camp was just simply a place to sleep for that week--heavy stuff, I know. So, there was one little camper who stole my heart and having to say goodbye to them completely tore me apart. I remember sitting on the porch talking and crying with one of my friends after the camper had left and I asked her "am I being dramatic?" I remember her response as if it was said yesterday. My friend laughed and said to me "it might be a little dramatic for some people but the Lord calls that empathy." Guys I tear up just thinking about that statement now. In that moment, the Lord spoke through my friend, crushed my insecurity right in front of my face, and made it a moment for His glory.
I had another similar situation in Costa Rica this past summer. Something had been bugging me and I asked one of the girls on the team if I was being dramatic (because even though that insecurity was spoken to at camp, insecurities have a funny way of always creeping back up again). My friend in Costa Rica responded with "yes, I might think this is a little dramatic but the Lord gave you those emotions for a reason. He gave you empathy. Ask Him how He wants you to serve Him with those emotions." Guys. The consistency of the Lord is hilarious to me. He never misses a beat.
Besides these two stories mentioned, there have been so many people say generally the same thing to me time and time again. Though I still get made fun of for being dramatic, the number of people who encourage me in my emotions is much larger than the number of people who make fun of me. Like I said, the Lord is consistent and the people I am surrounded by allow Him to speak through them. In fact, so many people have spoken empathy over me that it has become engraved on my heart. I was talking to a friend one evening and she was asking me if she was being dramatic, it was my knee-jerk response to say "your drama is empathy. it's not a bad thing." Empathy has now become a part of me and my ministry for the Lord.
So let me start this post over again. Hi my name is Sydney and I was blessed with empathy. I can relate to people well and I can use my emotions to comfort people. The Lord has made my heart to be in tune with the people around me and I can use this gift to draw people closer to Him. I am no longer nervous at the foot of this insecurity, rather, I stand on top of this insecurity and in the Lord's name, have conquered it.
So my prayer for you is that you listen to what the Lord is saying to you and ask Him how your insecurities can be used for His glory. Because the Lord can use anything and everything for His Glory.
In Christ,
Sydney
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