Dear fellow introvert,

One consistent message introverts hear is to be more. Well-intentioned friends and co-workers will try to convince you that you aren’t enough.

They will say you are . . . too sensitive, too shy, too quiet, too timid. 

They will tell you to . . . get out there more, don’t be so quiet, be more like your sister, speak up!

As you get older, they will tell you that you need . . . more confidence, to network or “get out of your shell,” to let others know how you feel.

Or else you’ll never get a job, find a husband, keep friends, or succeed in life. All of these are false. 

You are exactly who you’re supposed to be.

You are uniquely and wonderfully made. 

Being shy doesn’t mean you’re sheepish or bashful or mousy. It doesn’t mean you are insecure, shrinking, or withdrawn. 

You can be shy and confident. Introverted and brave. Quiet and fearless. 

It’s precisely your shyness or quietness that makes you such a good friend. You care deeply for those in your inner circle and refuse to fill your life with surface-level friendships. 

Your quietness allows you to be an effective problem solver. 

Your quiet demeanor allows you to notice when others are hurting in a crowd full of laughter.

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Your hesitation to draw attention to yourself gives this world a picture of humility. 

Your tendency to work alone doesn’t make you anti-social but allows you to concentrate and produce creativity and beauty for the world. 

You define who you are, not someone else.

You are not too shy, too quiet, or too anything. You are exactly who God made you to be. 

The One who spent six days creating the earth spent nine months creating you. 

Don’t believe them when they tell you that you need to speak up more. You’re a deep thinker, and God loves that about you. 

When they say you’re too sensitive, praise God for your sensitivity that opens your eyes and heart to the hurting of this world. Your sensitivity reaches out to those who are lonely, afraid, and broken. 

Ignore people who say you’re too introverted. You know not everything needs to be said; it can be felt instead. 

Your sensitivity and quietness are gifts from God.

He made you this way, and if He makes the sun rise and set every day, He knows what He’s doing. 

There will never be another you in all of history. God knows every hair on your head, and He calls it very good. 

Not everyone will know how to relate to you because you wear your heart on your sleeve. That’s OK, let them question you. Let them say what they need to say because it has nothing to do with you. 

Bring your hurt to the One who made you. God is waiting with open arms. 

Someday you will love these things about yourself. You’ll find that you prefer being quiet to being loud. You prefer thinking deeply before responding versus empty talking. 

Your heart will love deeply, and that love will make you a wonderful caregiver and mother someday. That deep love you feel is from God. Don’t snuff it out. 

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You’ll learn that you aren’t shy. You may be an introvert, but that personality trait enables you to cherish life-giving relationships. It forces you to get to know another person and meet them where God is. Your shyness prevents you from doing things out of attention. Instead, you do things out of love. 

When someone tells you that you are shy, you’ll recognize that you value relationships too much to waste time with empty talk.

You won’t mind when someone you know says you are timid because you know that you bring a calming presence that allows others to be themselves. 

You may even agree when someone says you’re reserved because that makes you a great listener. 

When someone says you’re an introvert, you’ll smile, knowing that you’re a deep thinker. 

Your open heart does mean you’ll get hurt. But here’s the secret, if you keep your heart closed and guarded at all times, the pain will seep throughout your whole life, and you’ll never become who God made you to become. 

Find those who love you just as you are. Find others who are willing to go deep with you. Find joy and happiness in being yourself. This is where you will meet God. And one day, you’ll see that loving God and being loved by Him when you’re 100 percent yourself is all you need out of life.