{ DAY 397 }

Note:  I’ve gone back and forth whether or not to post this since it is very personal and also involves what another said but in the hopes that it will help or encourage one person…

We sat on the the bench side by side at my favorite park as the light turned all golden and we watched the turtles, imagining their conversation, and debated whether or not the duck was chubby or fluffy.  And then we talked.  It was a hard conversation anyways but then I saw it.  As if time stopped and I could see the words coming out of his mouth.  Unintentional daggers, like a movie slow motion shot, hung mid air ready to pierce me.  “She said I could find lots of girls WAY better than you.”  Even now I see the scene in my mind as an out of body experience.  For one split nano second I wanted to jump to my defense but that feeling was instantly replaced by the realization that what had been said was true to some extent.  He could find a girl way better than me.  There are so many women who are more talented, beautiful, smart, accomplished, hardworking, and Jesus loving than I am.  But also in that moment I graciously saw another picture come up in defense of the arrows aimed at me.  I saw a shield put up in front of me.  A shield ready to take all those arrows.  I saw Jesus.  And I knew that while there are women (and men) who are everything better than me or everything worse than me that it didn’t and it doesn’t matter.  My identity isn’t in those things (i.e. beauty, intelligence, talent, determination, or even how well I love Jesus).  My identity is set by the One who who whispers stars into dancing, dawns into song, and who spins planets like tops so well they never fall.  The One who did all that declares that I am perfect, holy, and righteous, not because of what I have done but because of what he has done.  When HE said, “It is finished!” it was.  My identity may have been put to the test by those words spoken on the park bench but it doesn’t set my identity.  I don’t have to listen to the lies spoken and the words that say I’m not good enough.  You see Jesus already declared that I’m not good enough (my sin) when he had to die on a cross to rescue me!  He has also spoken the most beautiful words over me and said, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” (Isa. 43:1).  It doesn’t matter what anyone else says or thinks about me.  It doesn’t matter what anyone else says about you.  You are a beautiful child of Christ made in his image and declared perfect because of what Jesus did for us.  And if you haven’t put your faith in Christ alone as your Lord and Savior you can and he will declare the same precious words over you.  Let’s walk confident.  Let’s be the people Jesus has declared us to be.

(In Thursday’s post I’ll show you part two of the pics and more detail shots of the flower crown I made. 🙂 )

P.S. Post numbers… 3+4=7 😉

Edit: Soooo I totally got off on numbering my posts and this post wasn’t actually 347… 🙁