Graduate, you are enough

A voice teacher once told a group of students in a singing workshop to always remember, "You are enough."

The significance of that statement has grown for me over the years since I first heard it, and it seems a fitting message for graduates beginning a new life out of school or for anyone who's ready for a new beginning.

As a singer, I understood the statement as a defense against all of the other voices that get in the way of singing - "So and so could sing this so much better than I can." "If only I could hit that one note more securely." Or, the night before performance, "I need another week to really get this down." Obviously these kinds of sentiments aren't limited to singing, and similar doubts come to mind when pursuing any worthwhile endeavor.

The concept "you are enough" means to me knowing that you have what it takes to do what you need to do. The reason that this is true is because of the free access we all have to our Creator's love, balance, order, and intelligence.

Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered Christian Science, wrote that God's creation, man, including male and female, "reflects spiritually all that belongs to his Maker" ("Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," p. 475). There is nothing good that's inaccessible to any of us. Consequently, "You are enough."

Of course this doesn't mean that you don't have more to learn about this "enough." We all do. But at any given moment, you have the strength and ability to do what you're called upon to do.

This isn't a cheerleading, self-help, build-your-self-esteem pep-talk. It's based on the solid fact of who you are as God created you. Singer/songwriter Mindy Jostyn put it well in her song, "In His Eyes": "You're ... a triumph of heavenly skill."

A classic example of someone who had to realize for himself "You are enough" is Moses. Moses' response to God's direction to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt was similar to the way most of us would probably respond: "You mean me?"

The biblical account reads, "Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?" (Ex. 3:11).

The Amplified Bible has an insightful footnote to that verse, taken from F.B. Meyer, "Moses, the Servant of God": "There was something more than humility here; there was a tone of self- depreciation which was inconsistent with a true faith in God's selection and appointment. Surely it is God's business to choose His special instruments; and when we are persuaded that we are in the line of His purpose, we have no right to question the wisdom of His appointment. To do so is to depreciate His wisdom or to doubt His power and willingness to become all that is necessary to complete our need."

Moses did free the Israelites, and God's help was with him at every step. It was no easy ride, with all sorts of obstacles, delays, and hardships, including resentful followers.

One could argue that believing in himself was not so hard for Moses because he first heard God speak from a bush that was on fire but not being consumed; he could be sure that it was God indeed who was calling him to this mission.

But the callings we feel, even though not as dramatic, are significant and worth listening to and following. And what reassures further is God's answer to Moses' first doubts. God said, "Certainly I will be with thee."

That divine message is another reason why you can say with authority, "I am enough." God is with you each step of the way.

Ah Lord God! ...
There is nothing
too hard for thee.
Jeremiah 32:17