Have We Believed the Lie?

Have you ever felt alone in a crowd?

Standing in a roomful of people, your deodorant quits, as you imagine everybody noticing nobody is talking to you.

You awkwardly move about the room, attempting to jump into conversations like a competitor in a double-dutch competition.

You wind up alone in a corner, sipping punch so your hands have something to do. At this point, you’re either feeling invisible, or that people are staring right at you, as if your hair’s on fire.

Maybe you’ve never experienced this scenario, but I have a feeling some are saying yes, how did you know?

I know, because it’s happened to me.

Perhaps you haven’t experienced that, but you’ve experienced this:

That friend’s family who thinks you don’t measure up, or that promotion you didn’t get, or that guy who stood you up, or that parent who bases your value on a letter grade.

Let’s keep it real, those things cut deep, don’t they?

Those events can make the value meter hit bottom.

But hear me, we’ve got to trade those lies about our value for the truth.

The truth is, we’ve been lied to by the enemy of our soul.

He magnifies our insecurities, until we feel like something we’d scrap off the bottom of our shoe.

He tells us we don’t belong, and we believe it.

Because when we focus on ourselves, we’re not focusing on God.

What if we flipped the coin, turned the tables, chose truth?

What if we stood in a room where nobody is speaking to us, and made it missional?

Instead of trying to jump into conversations, how about we start a new one?

Yes, with the other women in the room nobody is talking to.

We were born for community, God created us that way; and we don’t need to wait for an invite.

And when we believe we are of little value, what we’re really saying is this: God has created something of little value.

I don’t agree with that, do you?

So next time we’re tempted to believe who we aren’t, let’s go to the Word to confirm who we are.

Here’s just one passage of many:

In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of His glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 1:11-14

Popularity is man-made.

Let’s be confident women in Christ, who know our value comes from God.

That’s the kind of woman everyone wants to be around. Not because we’re all that, but because we’re all His.

So next time we find ourselves feeling alone in a crowd,

let’s commit to:

• Standing confidently, knowing we are where we are for a purpose and a plan
• Becoming acutely aware of other such wallflowers and create a bouquet
• Remembering this post, and that you are not alone

Will you join me in this commitment, and stop drinking punch in the corner?

Has Your Heart Lost its Sparkle?

 “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.”                                                        Deuteronomy 7:6(NKJV)

You never know what you’ll find in the trash.

I like using plastic grocery bags to line the waste baskets; it makes me feel less guilty about possessing a ton of them due to forgetting my cloth bags at home (all the time).

I’m always careful disposing trash in the bathrooms; things tend to fall in, things not meant to be thrown away. I dump the contents into a larger bag, eyeballing the debris as it free-falls to its final destination.

Yesterday, at the bottom of the trash, I found a treasure. A ruby-red glitter sticker, heart-shaped and worn. Though specs of glitter still remained, it had lost most of its sparkle.

I imagine you thought I was going to tell you I’d found a diamond ring, a coin, or other item of monetary value. Am I right?

Stay with me here as we uncover the treasure. Besides the fact that stickers are an in-demand commodity to those under twelve, and I happen to adore anything remotely resembling “the” ruby slippers, I was struck by a deeper meaning.

I was struck by the analogy of a trashed heart.

How often have we given our hearts to careers, the wrong person, shallow friends, only to have them stomped on and trashed? A fragile heart with layers of hurt piled on top, like empty toilet paper rolls and discarded shaving cream cans.

Do we intentionally throw away diamond rings, photos of infants wrapped in warm bundles, or our car keys? So why do we so easily give our hearts over to that which robs it of its sparkle?

When we aren’t chosen for that promotion; when we aren’t chosen by that certain someone; when we aren’t chosen by a friend to be maid of honor; when. we. aren’t. chosen.

As I plucked the cushy heart sticker from the trash, I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away.

A reminder. Jesus came to save us; He came to pluck our dirty, crushed hearts from the trash.

The Lord is our treasure, and we are His. He will gently hold our hearts, and He will always choose us. Are we choosing Him?

It’s time to get your sparkle back.

Lord, You are my treasure. Forgive me if I’ve only given you a portion of my heart. Direct my steps, as I surrender my whole heart to You, Jesus. Thank you for digging my heart out of the trash, and bringing back its sparkle. You have chosen me, and I choose You. In the Mighty Name of Jesus. Amen.

Be Blessed!

Doris