As the petals open up, layer by layer, exposing the center, the more beautiful the rose becomes.
People are like that, too.
As we let the “walls” down, allowing others to see our hearts, the more attractive we become.
It is openness, not obscurity that sets captives free
Let there be peace in our great land and let it begin with me. Let love ignite every heart and shine for all to see. Let there be one race, with no divisive mutiny. May we all respect the multitude of opinions with quiet dignity. Let us pray for our country in committed unity. No eye has seen; no ear has heard the breadth of His love for you and me. We are all called to one thing, love one another as our God loves you, me and our neighbor, Republican, and Democrat, all three. Let the violence end, hatred cease, and peace and harmony reign free. I pledge allegiance to one nation under God, not a woman or man, and it is in He where my security will stand. Please, Father calm restless, weary souls and whisper in our ears until it flows from our heart’s, let there be peace and love on earth and let it begin with me. Amen.
A well-dressed woman is clothed in kindness, gentleness and a smile. Her best accessories are words of encouragement, warm hugs and helping hands. Let us not forget the finest things in life are free and one size fits all!
Last night my son and I had a dinner date. He wanted pizza. Pizza is always the predictable choice for him! Unfortunately, he did not have to twist my arm very hard, especially for Davenport’s Pizza in Mountain Brook.
“Let me drive mom.” Those words still jolt me. I just turned sixteen, or so it feels that way some days.
During our drive, he said to me, “Mom, your car is clean on the outside, but always messy inside.” I did not have much room for dispute, so I just affirmed his observation as subtle shame sunk me a little deeper into my seat.
Later I was thinking about what he said. I saw a picture of life that was worthy of consideration. Like my car, I typically clean myself up on the outside but easily neglect the inside. I cannot hide the external, but I sure can the internal.
I have a lot of “junk” inside. Some out of my control, some in my control. Some deposited by me and some left behind by others. I eventually get around to cleaning out the inside of my car, but I cannot be that nonchalant with my soul. Taking inventory of the inside mess requires daily diligence. When I neglect this process, it is to my detriment as well as those closest to me.
I want to be a congruent person. My desire is that my interior matches my exterior. I cannot withstand shining myself up all the time. That is exhausting and not realistic. Trash can be buried but unless destroyed, it will eventually stink again. I must be attentive to what I am fighting inside while being authentic about what I am flaunting outside.
Jesus addresses this very issue. Luke 11:39~ “I know you Pharisees burnish the surface of your cups and plates, so they sparkle in the sun, but I also know your insides are maggoty with greed and secret evil. (The Message)
Father help me to live a congruent life between what people see and do not see. Give me the grace to dismantle facades and presentations based on social pressures and expectations. Grant me the courage to live free as I am in every moment within the parameters of your spiritual fruits: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Thank you for the ways you pursue my whole heart; even through the observations of my children. You are a faithful God. Amen.
Embracing transparency frees us from a life of isolation, and the exhaustion of trying to appear like we have it all together. Transparency is contagious and liberating because it gives others permission to be “normal.” We need to walk this beautifully, broken life with each other well. I cannot do that if am not willing to give up my need to manage what people think of me, and to have an appearance of an “altogether” life. We are all only accountable to One. He accepts us just as we are-broken.
Vulnerability, for me is one of the keys to living free. It is the willingness to say, I am broken and weak that opens a reservoir of strength we can only gain in our inadequacy.If we need not, we seek not. It is only in seeking we find.
I’m muddling through my days right now friends. Intense, sudden trauma can wreck havoc on your body and mind weeks and months after the jolting of its turbulence has passed. It certainly has mine. I’m relieved but restless. I thankful but tired. I mingle with grief and walk with gratitude. If you have never occupied such a space, you may not understand, but it is a cumbersome place to fall. I find myself wondering when I will feel adequate again? When will I not feel like I’m letting everyone and everything in my home, and around me down?
Then I’m reminded, that is an arrogant, self sufficient line of interrogation. There will never be a time I will not be neglecting someone or something. In those moments when I forget, I am consumed by frustration. Rest, peace and growth become good desires I am chasing in vain.
I have been feeling very insufficient since Carter’s accident. I am very forgetful. My memory has abandoned me. I do hope it’s on a beach somewhere planning a return soon. If not, I hope it comes back to get the rest of me-:). I’m going to need to shop soon for new clothes, sheets, towels, etc…if the laundry continues to not do itself. My pantry and refrigerator scare me. Every time I open them, they rebuke me. Really, it goes something like this, “we need eggs, ice cream, milk, bread, and just when exactly do you plan on getting to the store?”
With Carter in school such short days, and so many appointments, I am finding it hard to manage my time and responsibilities. When I get a few moments, the to do list is longer than my ability to perform, and sturdier than my stamina. The last few days I have been feeling particularly inferior to my sub par performance- Until yesterday morning.
During a Bible study, Unhitching from the Crazy Train, Julie Sparkman of @Restore Ministries, said this, “we are inadequate and unashamed- that equals the Gospel. That gem of truth was a life giving reminder on a flesh flourishing day for me. It was like a refreshing drink of water on a scorching August afternoon. I knew, but I had forgotten. I had forgotten, and thus forsaken the Gospel.
Jesus died for my inadequacies, and yours. Being ashamed of them is being dishonorable to Him. He willingly gave his life to give me life. He suffered a cruel, undeserved death to complete me in all the areas I am incomplete. Because He is whole, I am free to be broken. Because he is perfect, I am free to be imperfect. That is good news for a ragamuffin like me.There is no need to twinge in light of my truth. There is no need to cower to condemnation. I am righteous because Jesus is risen.
Life has its way of coaxing us into forgetting, but the Gospel has its way of coaching us into remembering.
C. S. Lewis said, “people need reminding a lot more than they need instructing.” Those words are bearers of solid truth. I know, and I forget. I am reminded, and I am set free.
Our years are a series of stages and phases. I am grateful for the ones in which my insufficiency is illuminated so my mind and spirit can once again yield to the exclusion of the One who secures for me all that I cannot attain on my own. I need the Gospel in my hands everyday, so that my heart may remember everyday. I am continually drawn to an awareness that growth is most fertile when planted in the soil of grief. Staying cognizant of that is a bridge to hope and gratitude.
I hope in all the areas you feel inadequate today, and everyday you can find some freedom from this, as I did.
I know a lot of you are facing some very difficult circumstances. Trails and hardships that threaten your desire to wake up, to get dressed, to smile, and carry on. I can confidently say I am familiar with that place. A few years ago, I went through a trial that positioned me in such despair that I gained a new identity-victim. Life alternates between numbness, crying, anger and fear there. I was drowning in a set of circumstances with no life preserver.
Why? I had plenty of friends for support. I went to a good church, and had all my life. I had a supportive family. I had every provision I needed. I had…I had…I had so much, yet none of it was enough to save me from my own despair. It was there, broken and helpless, that God found me.
It’s a perplexing thing to understand. I had been in church all my life. He hadn’t found me, or I him before? No! I had found a religion, not a relationship. I had found a lot of laws, not a lot of grace. I had found a lot of truth and not a lot of freedom. I had found a book called the Bible, but not the gospel. I had heard but I didn’t really hear. I saw, but didn’t really see, and I knew, but didn’t really know, didn’t really know-HIM.
It was not until I entered the darkest place that I began to find the light. For when things are always bright we cannot see, and when we cannot see we will eventually stumble. I say all this to encourage you that when life feels overwhelming, unbearable and hopeless, we can choose hope and peace, because it is in the darkness that we see the light, and it is only by the light that we find our way.
Rescue comes in the Relationship, and I did very little on my own to initiate that. All I did was start showing up, and some days it was a battle to do that! I can tell you, though, once you have been dragged through a dense forest, once you have been redeemed from victim to victor, subsequent trails, which are no doubt inevitable, become such a different experience! If for no other reason they draw us into compete lack of self-sufficiency, and into complete dependance upon a Savior. The more you need someone, the more you get to know them. Then a curious thing happens, the more you get to know Jesus, the more you want to spend time with him, and it only gets sweeter from there.
I’m not going to lie, some circumstances are outright unthinkable, but you can choose to find one positive thing in the midst of them, and that is an invitation…come broken, come messy, come weary, come over burdened-just come! I will personally testify-HE will meet you there. Trust me, I am there a lot, and I do know!