Who ARE you?

Hi ladies! Some of you heard me tell this story about my 15 year old son a few weeks ago, and as I was thinking about it again this morning, I decided it was worth repeating!

So sitting around our living room one day, our son asked my husband and me if it is wrong to pretend to be something you aren't. We said that it is and asked him the reason for his question. He very seriously replied, "Sometimes I pretend to be skinny." We, of course, couldn't help but laugh and explained to him: #1, you ARE skinny.. and #2, you can't pretend to be skinny. Either you are or you aren't. He defended his position by proclaiming, "Well, I do it. Sometimes I suck it in."

This got me thinking about other areas of life where we all do this from time to time. We pretend to be something, or someone, that we aren't. We do this for any number of reasons - dissatisfaction with who we are, jealousy of who someone else is, pride, shame, fear, etc.

I've experienced this in my own life and in choosing to obey God and share my personal testimony, I've had several people say to me that it would have been so much easier for me to keep my past in the past, to just move on; particularly since I moved out of state where the people who knew my story, now lived miles and miles away.

Now I'll be the first to agree that it is NOT EASY to share my story with others, whether it's in a group or when the Holy Spirit is prodding me to share one on one. But where I disagree is that it surprisingly would NOT have been easier to stay silent. Staying silent would mean I am pretending to be someone I am not. Staying silent would mean that Satan still has control over that part of my life. Staying silent would mean living in chains, instead of living free.

Ladies, it is Satan who wants you to "suck it in", whatever it is you're trying to hide. It is Satan who wants you to go on pretending to be something or someone you aren't. It is Satan who wants to keep that part of your life in the dark, where he can then effectively keep YOU in the dark.

But your Savior Jesus has brought you into his marvelous light!!! And so whatever it is that you think he can't use or he can't redeem, I challenge you today to give him the chance. I guarantee, he will prove you wrong.. and you will be SO GLAD he did!!

So don't pretend to be skinny. Be who you ARE in Christ Jesus today.. that's the most BEAUTIFUL you there could ever be.