Jacob Glassner

Anytime I hear the word “icebreaker,” I tend to freeze because that means I’m going to have to talk in front of a crowd.

I’m an introvert. There, I said it. Well, not really; I wrote it. But as long as I can write it and not say it in front of a group, I’m fine with that.

During freshman orientation at Bellarmine University way back in 1995, it became abundantly clear where I fell on the introvert/extrovert spectrum.

I was assigned to a group of seven other wide-eyed high school graduates. Shortly after we arrived on campus, our group leader, Scott, an unshaven upperclassman who wore a tattered Cypress Hill ball cap, gathered us in a circle outside. He announced that we were going to play some icebreaker games.

In the first game, each person was to say his or her name with an adjective with the same first letter. For instance: Sexy Scott. The adjective didn’t necessarily have to describe you, but then you had to go around the circle and say each person’s name.

First up: Tan Tom. And you know what? Tom really did have a dark tan. I began thinking intently as Happy Heather introduced herself, and I soon became confounded by the extreme dearth of adjectives that start with the letter J.

“Jaded?” No. “Joking.” Maybe. And then it popped into my mind: “jumping”—Jumping Jacob, that’s me. It was both descriptive, since I liked playing basketball, and ironic, since my 6-inch vertical leap kept me from playing at the next level.

I felt a brief sense of relief, and then the girl next to me introduced herself: Jumpin’ Jo-Jo.

Are you kidding me? My mind began cycling through J words again. “Jesting?” No. A thesaurus, a thesaurus, my kingdom for a thesaurus. “Jocular?” No, that might be misconstrued to mean something it doesn’t.

And then it was my turn: “Tan Tom, Happy Heather, Jumpin’ Jo-Jo and … Jerky Jacob.” To this day, I’m not sure why I blurted that out, but for the rest of the game I felt stupid.

I shut down during the second game: two truths and a lie. We were told to make three statements about ourselves and have everyone guess which one was the lie. Mine were as follows: I have brown hair; I have blue eyes; I’m happy to be here. My self-imposed jerky label stuck.

I’m not excusing my actions. I should have sucked it up and tried to be nice, but the situation overwhelmed me. After all the “fun” activities were finished, I retreated to the dorm room assigned to me for the evening—hoping and praying a bunkmate wouldn’t show up—and thinking about words that start with the letter J.

If I had a redo, I’d probably settle on “jovial” or “judicious.”

As I’ve grown older, I’ve moved a little closer to center on the introvert/extrovert spectrum, but I’m still skewed toward the introvert side. I used to think something was wrong with me. Why couldn’t I enjoy parties and meet new people without sweating uncontrollably?

But I’ve come to realize something very important: God created introverts. And he didn’t create them to be the footstools of all the extroverts in the world; He can use an introvert just as well as He can use an extrovert.

You might not be comfortable talking in front of a crowd, but maybe you’re a good listener who can help a hurting friend who needs to talk. Maybe you enjoy spending time alone. Guess what? God speaks to people in a still, small voice.

And if you do step out into an area that causes your stomach to twist in knots, God will be with you all along the way.

When God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses said, “‘Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue’” (Exodus 4:10). Sounds like an introvert to me.

When God found Gideon hiding in a winepress and told him he was to save the Israelites from the oppression of the Midianites, Gideon replied, “‘But how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest … and I am the least in my family’” (Judges 6:15). Sounds like another introvert to me.

Moses and Gideon both brought glory to God because they couldn’t have done what they did on their own.

“And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness’” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV).

All those introverts out there, shout amen! (Or at least write it.)