Kiss the Fairy Tale Good-Bye

“We met when we were just kids….He was my first slow dance, my first kiss, my first love, my first. We have been married for 10 years, have two beautiful children and he is my rock. He is my best friend.” As I processed what I had heard, I thought that it had the power to make every women who heard it, or other fairy tale stories like it, feel a tinge of envy.  However, this love story didn’t tell about the weeks that she didn’t eat and hardly slept because her marriage was in shambles and on the brink of divorce. It didn’t talk about the pain and how it was almost impossible to survive.…for weeks. Only a few of the people in her life knew about that chapter of her marriage; to the rest of the world, it looked like a perfect love story.

It is so easy to compare our life to those around us. I cannot count the number of times that I have compared my weaknesses to that amazing woman preacher, the gorgeous worship leader with a voice just as beautiful as her face, the toned girl in her tank and yoga pants, the angelically patient mom responding to her children, the friend with a glamorous life full of exotic vacations …. Do you ever have that inner wrestle of wondering if you are enough?

The truth is, that we ALL have struggles, and we all have unique gifts that are INTENTIONAL, from God. As much as it can feel like God did not know what He was doing, placing you where you are, He did place you where you are, for such a time as this. I find it so encouraging that in His wisdom, God did not down-play the many flaws and insecurities of the men and women that He worked through in Scripture.

Remember Moses,

But Moses pleaded with the LORD, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.” –Exodus 4:10

Gideon

“But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!” –Judges 6:15

Jeremiah

“O Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!” –Jeremiah 1:6

In the book of Mark, chapter 6,  Jesus had finished speaking to a crowd of 5,000 and he said to His disciples, “You give them something to eat!” Um, excuse me Jesus….me? Not only am I not prepared to do what you asked, but it is not possible. But Jesus asked them, “How many loaves (of bread) do you have?” With the five small loaves that they had, He fed 5,000!
You see, Jesus uses us as we are. He uses what we have; weaknesses, insecurities and all. When we are willing to offer what we have, He is able to do what only He can do.

Today’s Prayer: Lord, You know my weaknesses, my insecurities, my tendency to compare myself to others. Please help me to remember that Your grace is sufficient for me. That Your power is made perfect in my weakness. Lord, I offer to You what I have and invite You to work through me.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. -2 Corinthians 12:9