When a Silly Thing You Don't Like Becomes the Thing God Uses

When I was 19 years old, I wished I had a different voice. I wanted a Southern accent like all the girls around me, but instead, I had this strange, unplaced kind of voice. And I couldn't sing to save my life. I could only talk way too much with this voice.

One summer, my camp director told me that I had the "perfect broadcasting voice." (A strange compliment for a girl who never imagined being on television or the radio.) It was accent-free; my voice was a little of this and a little of that. No one could place it. Midwest? Maybe. East Coast? Maybe. It could blend and fit in because of its belonging-nowhere kind of tone and pitch. My explanation? God's plan for my childhood involved me moving every two years in a military family. My upbringing meant Army bases in Kansas, California, Virginia, and Washington, and my college years had me spending every summer in North Carolina.

That was me: belonging nowhere right down to my voice. 

So 20 years later, when I find myself doing radio interview after radio interview to talk about my new book, people say they absolutely love my voice. This voice that made no sense to me makes perfect sense on the air. It's like God shaped this whole life for my voice to reach out to people. Isn't that funny?

And as if God wanted me to really understand this calling that He knew would come about all along--after all those moves to different regions that shaped how I sound--three different women found me yesterday to randomly announce that they loved my voice.

What kind of compliment is that? Have you ever just told someone that you love their speaking voice?

It's such a funny thing! It's so wonderful to see God use even this unusual voice in His unfolding plan.

(By the way, I've seen my voice displayed on an oscilloscope compared to other voices. It's ridiculous! It's just like an explosion of fireworks! When other voices register as calm, appropriate, and normally textured, mine explodes.)