This blog is for anyone wondering if their testimony matters. (Spoiler alert: It does.)

A few months ago, I took a creative writing class where people of all ages from all over the country met virtually to talk about storytelling.  

During each class, the teacher gave us a writing prompt, like “Pick an object and tell a story about it” or “Write about an experience that scared you,” etc., then encouraged everyone to share, saying, “You don’t have to, but sharing only makes you better.”

I had the guts to share a whopping two times over the course of the entire class, but a handful of others shared often. As I listened to them tell their stories, I thought:

Wow, they’re really just going for it, eh? Aren’t they afraid someone will judge them? That one’s so much better than mine. How come I didn’t think of that? Am I even worthy of being here?

But besides convincing myself that they were all infinitely better writers than me, one thought reigned in my mind: Everyone’s approaching these prompts SO differently.

I was in awe. How in the world could we all be given the SAME prompt to write about the SAME thing and end up with crazy different stories? 

I knew where this thought was going. And when it arrived there, I accepted it. I swallowed the harsh reality that my writing will never sound like Sandy’s or Kristen’s or Robby’s because I’m not Sandy or Kristen or Robby. Shortly after one of the prompts, a student asked how we can improve our writing style. And our teacher answered with a golden nugget of advice I’ll never forget. She said, “No one is you, and that’s what makes your writing unique. That’s your superpower.” 

Cue lightbulb.

No one is you and that’s your superpower.

She was asking us to take the pressure off of trying to sound like everyone else. Just stick to your experiences, your style, and focus on that. 

I felt a blog coming on. Because in so many ways, this is like our testimonies. Yours is like no one else’s for a reason. Even if you got baptized on the same day as 13 other people, you all have different stories of how God called you. Whether you’ve seen angels, had visions, or just felt His Spirit in the middle of your living room one day, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you focus on your own, and that you share it. 

I mean, look at the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. They were all writers, all scribing the life of Jesus, telling the same stories with their own perspectives. And though they were writing from different places and times, they could’ve easily given up, thinking, Eh, someone else will probably tell this story better than I can. Mark already nailed it—what’s the use?

But they didn’t. God inspired each of them to put their own sump’in-sump’in on their account of Jesus. So that, together, the four books complete each other. Now, when I wonder why they all “made it” into the Bible, I believe it’s because God decided they were all necessary angles of Jesus’ life. 

Luke portrayed Jesus the human, His qualities that people could relate to. Matthew took a different approach and underlined the beauty of following Jesus. Mark gave us a slightly different angle by focusing on Jesus as a miracle worker. And John, as the closest to Jesus, covered details of His life the others didn’t. Collectively, they fit together like a puzzle that completes God’s will. Together, they have a better chance of reaching the world than they would have on their own. That’s why God gave them four distinct voices with varying levels of detail, color, and emotion. 

But it’s also why He gave US distinct voices. Because we are just as much a part of telling God’s story as the four famed gospel writers were. Our testimonies are all necessary angles of Jesus’ life, each one a puzzle piece that helps complete God’s will. 

So the next time you have the chance to share what God has done for you, don’t assume that someone could do it better or that it doesn’t matter. Remember that God gave you an experience so personal to you for a reason. Because your story can relate to someone that mine can’t, and vice versa. Remember that no one is you. God intentionally gave you your own unique story of how, when, where and why you met Him, and that is your spiritual superpower. 

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.

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