From YA Weekly
When You Feel Like You’re Not Good at Anything, Remember Your Capacity to Serve
Knowing I can serve others gives me the kind of confidence I lacked for most of my life.
I used to feel like I wasn’t good at anything.
Before serving my mission, that thought constantly lingered in the back of my mind. I have always been short and never particularly good at sports or academics. I felt like everyone else had so many more capabilities than I did. Even when people were kind and would say, “You have talents too,” I just brushed off their words as flattery.
I felt inferior and couldn’t bring myself to truly like who I was. But those feelings later changed.
Learning That I Am Capable
I served a mission in Sydney, Australia, and going there from Japan when I couldn’t speak English was so difficult. I didn’t understand what others were saying and could hardly express what I wanted to share. For a long time, I asked God, “Why was I called to serve in such a different country from my own?”
But thanks to the encouraging words from my mission president and companions, I slowly started to pick up on English. Little by little, I was able to have conversations with those I taught. It was a miracle! But I also began to feel a sense of confidence—a quiet but powerful feeling of fulfillment that I was capable and doing something meaningful for someone else.
It wasn’t easy. But I felt deep joy in knowing that the Lord was trusting my abilities and was working through me. That felt more empowering than anything I had ever felt before.
Confidence in Serving
After returning home, I was preparing a lesson to teach in elders quorum, and I came across an inspiring talk that hadn’t been translated into Japanese. I felt strongly that I wanted to share that message with the class. So I translated it from English and shared it during the lesson. Many of the brothers were touched by the message and grateful that I had been able to translate it for them.
That experience taught me again that service doesn’t have to be complicated. Eventually, after translating more talks, I started volunteering to translate devotional addresses given to young adults. This led to me getting a job as an official translator. I was self-taught, but through serving, my skills had been refined, and I was able to bless others through what I had learned.
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles once said:
“Sometimes our lives are like neo-impressionistic art. The dots of color that make up the moments and events of our days can appear unconnected and chaotic at times. We can’t see any order to them. We can’t imagine that they have a purpose at all.
“However, when we step back and take an eternal perspective, when we look at our lives in the frame of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we can begin to see how the various dots in our lives interconnect. We may not be able to see the entire picture just yet, but with patience we can see enough to trust that there is a beautiful, grand design.”
When I was called to serve in Australia, I felt like my life was a bunch of disconnected dots I didn’t understand. But looking back now, I see that all those opportunities to serve and to learn English were part of Heavenly Father’s plan to bless me and to show me that I am truly capable, I have talents, and I can have confidence in who I am as a disciple of Christ and as a son of God.
He trusts me to serve others, and that service has filled me with charity—the pure love of Christ—for those around me.
Willing to Share His Love
When we feel inferior to others, all we have to remember is our capability to share goodness with the world, in big ways and small. Serving isn’t always easy. Things don’t always go the way we hope they will, but we are all capable of sharing light, and our service can help us and others prepare to meet the Savior.
As Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:
“[God] expects us to use our gifts, talents, and abilities to bless the lives of Heavenly Father’s children. …
“Seek God’s guidance to develop your unique abilities, and help others, even when it isn’t easy. … In doing so, you help the world prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, and you will be blessed with sufficient hope to enter the rest and joy of the Lord, now and in the future.”
I believe that serving others and showing Christlike love is directly fulfilling the very purpose for which we came to earth, and through this, we can help one another return home to Him.
When I doubt myself, service is what I can offer. It is the key that unlocks so many blessings in my life, including having confidence in my divine identity and before the Lord.