Tag: Goodness

Unique

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Everyone has something that is important to them. I have things that are important to me. You have things that are important to you. Sometimes those things don’t overlap. Sometimes people can understand where you are coming from to the degree that they have personal experience, and sometimes it’s just not going to register at all.

I’m learning that it is okay that not everyone understands what it is like to be a woman in 21st-century America, or a mom, a drafter, a wife, a poet, a musician, etc. My experience is mine. What is important is that I am being authentic and reaching my potential in spite of that.

Not everyone is going to understand or care. As long as I care, that is all that really matters. Because as soon as I need outside validation, I will take a step off my singular path in order to fit someone else’s paradigm.

You were given a unique perspective. Embrace it. Love it. It will get you where you are supposed to go.

Letting Go

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She picked up the stone she had been carrying in her pocket. It was smooth from rubbing with her fingers and cool to the touch. It was her favorite stone, the only stone she had left.

“Can I have it, little one?”

“Why, I don’t know that I could part with it. I love it so, you see. I found it a long time ago and I don’t remember life without it. What would I have in its place?”

“Ah, but you see, that is precisely why I want it. Perhaps you are meant to know what loss of a thing feels like. I will tell you this, If you give me the rock, I’ll give you more of me. And I’ll still have the rock, but I’m very good at keeping things safe.”

“Well…maybe.”

And then, looking into his deep brown eyes, she could see the love he had for her, how he wanted her trust in even this seemingly small thing, so she opened her hand and offered the last thing in the world she had to call her own.

And she immediately felt light, and free–like the world was so full of possibility. Like she had so many options for how to be in this world than she thought possible while holding on to that one thing she had cherished for so long.

She was starting from scratch; rediscovering herself and what life could possibly be in this rockless world. And instead of feeling dread over her loss, she just felt peace, a little apprehensive, but sure that she’d made the right decision, and that maybe when she was ready he would give back her rock and it would fit with her new life that she was setting out to discover.

But for now, she had given everything over to his care. Her faith was simple and small, and she felt good.

He held out his hand, and she clasped it tightly. They would be going on this adventure together. She would never be alone again.

You Are Lovable

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From the fear that I am unlovable…
Deliver me, Jesus.

The idea that a person is unlovable goes back to the feeling that in order to be lovable we have to do and say the right things. Though it may be difficult sometimes for other people to love us, for God it is effortless. This is the beauty of the Gospel. God loves you; He loves me; He loves everyone. If you doubt that, you have only to look to the One who laid His life down for you on the cross–Jesus Christ, the Son of God who is fully God and fully man. He is the real, tangible proof that you are indeed lovable.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. (John 3:16)

 

Be Still

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“Be still and know that I am God!” (Ps. 46:10a)

People often think that “be still” in this verse means, “be quiet,” but it actually means “sink down, relax, let drop, or let go” (H7503).

On the night Christ was betrayed, He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane (Olive Pressing):

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done… He was in such agony and he prayed so fervently that his sweat became like drops of blood falling on the ground. ” (Luke 22:42,44)

In His humanness, Christ struggled with letting go of His own will, so much so that His sweat became as drops of blood. He humbled Himself, and acquiesced to His Father’s will even to the point of death.

La Pietà by Michelangelo is a masterpiece revealing the beauty of the human form and evoking emotion from the onlooker. For me, it embodies the idea of letting go or surrender. In dying, Christ shows His complete surrender to the will of His Father. Yes, He died, but three days later, He rose from the dead, conquering death and the grave. In letting go, in being humble, He is raised up to the highest place of honor in His Father’s Kingdom.

Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you. James 4:10

Many people struggle with wanting their own way. We think that if we can control our lives, we can avoid pain, discomfort, annoyance, and other kinds of suffering. But this simply is not true. We can’t control what happens to us. We can only control how we confront what happens to us.

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. (Luke 9:24)

We cannot escape suffering. What we can do is let go of our need to try to control and put our trust in a God Who is good, Who loves us, and Who desires the best for us. We can surrender to His will because He is faithful, He is trustworthy.

For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection. (Romans 6:5)

Even though we are destined to die, He has the power to raise us up again. We have hope that the death we die, whether physically or even psychologically, it is not the end; resurrection is coming.