Who Am I When I Can’t Do What I Love?

Who Am I When I Can’t Do What I Love?

What drives someone to seek a life beyond their gifts and achievements? This conversation on *The Call with Nancy Sabato* follows singer-songwriter Jenn Chenoweth as she wrestles with that question after a sudden accident in 2019 left her jaw locked and her singing unexpectedly at risk. For roughly three years, Jenn lived with chronic facial pain, constant medical appointments and surgeries, and the fear that leading worship could trigger her jaw to lock again.

Inspired by a professor who lost his ability to preach and turned to books, she began to write honestly about what she couldn’t control, asking God, "Do I really trust you?" Through this, she started seeing herself "not as a worship leader, not as a doer, not as a singer or a vocalist, but as his child." She shares how her view of God shifted from taskmaster to loving Father, good shepherd and friend: "He doesn't want me to just be this doer that is constantly going around trying to prove my worth and value to him.

That fear attached itself to what she once saw as her purpose, leaving her wondering, "Who am I if I can’t do what I love?" She recalls feeling numb and struggling to put words to what was happening inside her. Jenn talks about how, in that silence, writing became her new voice.

But he wants me to recognize that I am loved and I am secure because of him." That change helped her sit with her own long-term suffering and grow more patient with others whose pain doesn’t wrap up neatly.

For anyone worn down and struggling to hear God, Jenn suggests opening Scripture, especially stories that once meant a lot, letting tears become prayer, surrounding yourself with community, and staying curious about what God might be teaching in the middle of uncertainty. If your sense of worth feels tied to what you can do, could this story help you see yourself differently?