Insecurity

Can I be honest here? Oh wait...it's my blog...and that's just what I do! :) I am not afraid to speak my mind or share my heart. It's just a little part of how God has wired me. :) But there is something only partly related to this parenting journey that has really been on my heart lately. It is something that our world has become so accustomed to that we have normalized it and made it "okay." And it is eating away at the very hearts of so many people that I know and love. I'm talking about INSECURITY.

I see it everywhere. And especially in women. When did it become normal and okay to be insecure, friends? Who told us that it's okay to hate our bodies and question everything that we say or do? When did we start believing that in order to be "beautiful" we had to look a certain way? Who told us that we're just not good enough? Where did all of these stupid lies come from and how is it that we've ALL been duped?!?

WAKE UP, sisters! And have confidence in WHO you are...who you've been created to be! Your Father is calling you to a life of FREEDOM from insecurity. Did you know that it's actually okay to be confident? That it's actually okay to be YOU and not apologize for how you are? Did you know that when you hear someone say, "We all have our insecurities," that THAT is a LIE? We don't all have insecurities...but I would be willing to bet that we all HAVE HAD them at some time or another.

But I am here to tell you that I am FREE. I am confident. I don't get easily offended when someone shares their opinion about something that happens to be different from my own. I don't need to talk bad about others behind their backs to make myself feel better. I don't feel intimidated around others who are confident. In fact, I don't feel intimidated by anybody. I don't go tanning. I don't whiten my teeth. I am not self-conscious. And I don't hate my body. I am secure in WHO I am. And I sleep well at night. Though I am aware of my shortcomings (and there are many), I don't dwell on them. But rather, I look at life as a series of opportunities to grow. I am strong. Not in my own flesh or because of anything that I've done for myself. But because I have the Spirit of God living within me...and rely on Him alone to be my strength. The moment I step out of line with Him, I fall in my weakness. I have overcome a little thing called Shame. And I experience condemnation no more. I KNOW who I am. And it is in that identity that I rest and have peace.

And yet I see women all around me living with their insecurities like a toddler contentedly sitting in a poopy diaper. I want to yell at them all, "IT STINKS! YOU NEED TO CHANGE!" Sisters, daughters, mothers, wives, friends...we have GOT to put an end to this pervasive identity crisis within our world. Stop looking at the broken mirrors of this world to tell you who you are and how you should be. Stop believing the lies the Enemy has placed within you. And start learning more about who you've been created to be. This can only happen by spending time with your Creator...the One who made you and loves you beyond your wildest imagination.

It doesn't have to be this way. We don't have to be insecure and self-conscious. I know because I was there...for the better part of 29 years. It's only been in this past year of my life that I have fully grasped and understood the Truth about who I am. And I cannot begin to describe what this freedom feels like! And God knows how I want you ALL to experience it with me. So WAKE UP! Take a stand against these lies that have brought you down. Philippians 4:13 tells us that we "can do ALL things through Christ who gives us strength!" Are you ready to taste some freedom? Or will you let that fear...that insecurity...that self-hatred continue to hold you down? Cry out to God for help...ask Him to show you how He sees you! You can do it!! And you will be SO glad that you did. :)