I think I was afraid of being a clich\u00e9 before I even knew what the word meant. As a child the greatest insult I could throw at my little sister or my friends was that they were \u201ccopycats.\u201d When I came across songs, stories, or people who reminded me of something or someone I had already seen, something in me sighed, disappointed. It was during my fifth grade year at school when the word \u201cclich\u00e9\u201d arrived on my English vocab list, finally defining this thing I had dreaded my whole life. \u201cA very predictable thing or person\u201d was suddenly on my watch list, and my best friend and I competed to see who could spot clich\u00e9s in dialogue we heard or books we read. \u201cCLICHE!\u201d we would shout upon hearing or seeing one, hoping we were the first one to note it. (Yes, we were nerds. I fully own this.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This hyper-awareness of clich\u00e9s stayed with me through Bible college when it morphed into a sort of snide and prideful noting of each time a worship song was done too many times or Scriptural texts were preached repetitively in chapel services. Outside of school, I noticed the way each \u201cnew\u201d Christian fiction story was essentially the same formula as any other I could pick from the shelf and the way Christian hit radio had been playing the same ten hits for the past ten years. As life continued and social media exploded, I noticed each time a person\u2019s status or hash-tag echoed another over-done trend. I vowed to never to be \u201cthat person” \u2013 unless, of course, I was doing it tongue-in-cheek (CLICHE!). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over time, God worked on my mean attitude and He replanted grace in my heart. However, my deep craving for originality came from what I inherently knew to be true: we each carry within us something utterly unique, an individual and God-breathed potential that He\u2019s given to no one else. The gifts placed within us might mirror someone else\u2019s at first glance, but the timing and expression with which we use them are \u2014 or should be \u2014 unparalleled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The problem is that years of snide eye-rolls at others\u2019 unoriginality birthed a deep fear in me of being unoriginal myself. From the least of things (choice of hairstyle, movie to watch, wardrobe) to the greatest of things (my mothering, my writing, my ministry) I have, over the years, often let my fear of being a clich\u00e9 keep me from being anything at all. In my effort to say only things that have never been said, I have opted to say nothing. In my striving to keep originality foremost, I have often sacrificed authenticity. What\u2019s happened is that my unbending pursuit of originality has squelched God\u2019s unique calling over my life just as much as it would be squelched by my copying everyone else around me. Seeking an original expression that isn\u2019t true to me is just as detrimental as seeking an unoriginal expression that isn\u2019t true to me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think there are two sorts of fear in life and ministry that choke out our effectiveness. The first is the fear of being the same. In our efforts to not say or do anything that is overdone or be \u201cjust another\u201d whatever, we sometimes allow our fear to stop us from doing what we were made to do. The second is the inverse fear of not<\/em> being the same. As we compare ourselves to others and try to measure up, we often model our lives or ministries after someone we were never made to be. This can also keep us from doing what we were made to do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This idea was beautifully captured by Nathan Edwardson in an episode of the podcast \u201cExploring the Prophetic with Shawn Bolz.\u201d* Nathan pastors The Stirring, a church described in the podcast episode as one of the \u201cother\u201d churches in Redding, California. In the episode Nathan shares what it has felt like to live in the shadow of the well-known Bethel church, especially during a specific season when \u201cglory clouds\u201d (physical, cloud-like manifestations of God\u2019s glory) started showing up during Bethel\u2019s church services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen a glory cloud\u2019s showing up at the church down the street but not at yours, you have to talk to God about it . . . . At one point I just said, \u2018God, why . . . why don\u2019t we have a cloud? . . . The Lord spoke so clearly to me, and He said, \u2018You never asked me for a cloud.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Nathan shared how the Lord reminded him that He\u2019d given him everything he had<\/em> asked for: a city, a culture, a generation, sons, and daughters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Nathan continued, saying, \u201cIt brought me into a deeper journey of asking the Lord. \u2018What is in my heart?\u2019 Cause if we don\u2019t know what\u2019s in our heart, then we\u2019ll chase what\u2019s in someone else\u2019s heart.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether we are running from clich\u00e9s or chasing after the dreams in someone else\u2019s heart, we are running a race that will exhaust us because it <\/em>is not our race<\/em>. The dreams, desires, and gifts placed within our hearts were crafted uniquely by God and they are the only ones that will lead us to the path we were meant to run on. Psalm 139:13 (ESV) says of God, \u201cFor you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.\u201d I don\u2019t think it\u2019s too much of a stretch to imagine that the \u201cinward parts\u201d God formed include our hearts and the dreams that grow within them. God uniquely formed the inward parts of our body, thus creating us to be one unique part of a greater body, the Church. And beyond that, the world! <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be?\u201d (1 Corinthians 12:18). <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n We don\u2019t have to strive to make ourselves uber-original; we don\u2019t have to force or fake that. By asking God who He crafted us to be and staying true to that original design, we can\u2019t help but be unique. God doesn\u2019t make the same thing twice. You\u2019ve never been done before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Likewise, we don\u2019t have to strive to make ourselves the same as or \u201cjust as good as\u201d anybody else. By following the leanings God has placed in YOUR heart, you will fulfill the things only YOU were made to do. And the world will be richer and more colorful for it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Do what you were made to do, even if it\u2019s never been done (that probably means it\u2019s desperately needed) and even if it\u2019s been done 1,000 times (it\u2019s never been done by you). You are no rerun or clich\u00e9. Your story\u2019s never been written until now, which means the world needs it right now. So, you know, be yourself! You do you! (CLICH\u00c9!) I promise I\u2019ll try to do the same. <\/p>\n\n\n\n *Bolz, Shawn. \u201cNathan Edwardson.\u201d Exploring the Prophetic with Shawn Bolz. Podcast audio, March 5, 2019. exploringtheprophetic.libsyn.com <\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I think I was afraid of being a clich\u00e9 before I even knew what the word meant. As a child the greatest insult I could throw at my little sister or my friends was that they were \u201ccopycats.\u201d When I came across songs, stories, or people who reminded me of something or someone I had already seen, something in me […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":17301,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[41,43,77,80,95,109],"class_list":["post-12458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spotlight","tag-body-of-christ","tag-calling","tag-desires","tag-dreams","tag-feb20","tag-giftings"],"yoast_head":"\n\u201c\u2018Everything in your heart I\u2019ve given you. You never asked me for a cloud.\u2019\u201d <\/h3>\n\n\n\n