August 19, 2026: What People Think I Am vs. What I Actually Am - Δ Delta 7 Women

Most people think I’m an extrovert. I appear to be a confident, outgoing communicator. I’m friendly, and I readily engage in conversation with others. The truth is this, I’m a forced extrovert. My chosen professions forced me to be an extrovert to be successful at my career. I’ve been in sales and retail management for over thirty years, and to be shy was not an option if I wanted to keep my job. I performed with excellence, and was top in sales in multiple companies. I learned how to speak at a podium, sang in church, and even performed in theater productions.

BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT

How people perceive you does not have to match who you actually are underneath, and God can use both the person you had to become and the person you actually are.

SCRIPTURE

“Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:7 (ESV)

THE LESSON

I’m actually quite shy and introverted. Outside of work, I don’t normally speak to strangers unless they speak first, then I open up. At parties, I’m a wallflower, and I stand in the back of the room connecting with other wallflowers. I do well with small groups of people, but having to work a room is not something I’m comfortable with. I would rather be alone. I love being alone, with a book, my thoughts, or nothing at all. I enjoy my own company, and I recharge my batteries when I’m alone. Being around people constantly is quite draining, and at the end of the day, I look forward to my car ride, alone.

“Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.”

Mark 6:31 (ESV)

Jesus said that to His own disciples, in the middle of active ministry, surrounded by people who needed them. Rest wasn’t a failure to be available. It was part of how He led them. I think about that verse differently now than I used to, because I used to think needing to be alone meant something was wrong with me, especially doing the kind of work I do.

But I know that God has called me to serve others, and bring them into His kingdom, and it’s difficult to do that when you’re by yourself. I love people, and I love helping those around me. My life is not my own, and I have to do things that stretch me out of my comfort zone.

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

Philippians 1:21 (ESV)

Outside the comfort zone is where I’ve found my calling. Not because being around people stopped being draining, it hasn’t, but because what God called me to do was never about my comfort in the first place. I can be a genuinely introverted woman who needs her car ride alone at the end of the day, and still be exactly who He built to stand at a podium or sing in front of a church. Both are true. Neither one cancels the other out.

SUPPORT THE MISSION

If people see one version of you and you know there’s a quieter, more private version underneath it, I want you to hear today that both can be true, and God can use both. If this spoke to you, would you help me put it in front of another woman who feels like she’s performing a version of herself just to do what she’s called to do?

PRINCIPLE

What people see is not always the whole truth. God works with both versions of you.

DAILY ACTION

Name one way people perceive you that doesn’t match how you actually feel underneath. Thank God today for using both, the person you had to become and the person you actually are.

THE DAILY CHARGE

You do not have to choose between who people think you are and who you actually are. Both can serve the same calling.

Rest when you need to rest. Show up when you’re called to show up. He built you for both.

PRAYER

Father God, thank You for calling me outside my comfort zone even though it costs me something every time.

Thank You for the alone time You give me to recharge, and for not asking me to feel differently about needing it. Help me to keep serving others even when it drains me, and to keep resting the way Jesus modeled it, not as a failure but as part of the calling itself.

I love people, Lord, and I love helping those around me, even on the days it takes everything out of me to do it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

SUPPORT THE MISSION

If today reminded you that who you appear to be and who you actually are can both serve God’s purpose, I hope you carry that with you this week. Delta 7 Women exists to keep saying this plainly to women who need to hear it.