Who I Am.

Hello sweet friend.

I’d really love to talk with you and share my heart; I mean, REALLY share my heart. So grab some coffee or hot tea & let’s have a chat. I love you dearly and I want you to know who I am. But above all else, I want to declare my God as faithful.

I don’t know about you, but periodically I catch myself letting out a deep, heavy sigh. Even if nothing in particular is happening at that moment, it doesn’t matter. Here comes the sigh. It’s like I’m releasing feelings of being overwhelmed from fighting a battle that I’m unaware of. Or maybe all the stresses of life combine into this huge pile, so I’m not thinking of just one thing that’s on my mind, because 1,000 things are. What do I do on days like this? Well, there’s the classic to-do list. That’s very helpful, right? Until I literally run out of room on my paper to list everything. So then I think, “I need to buy an actual to-do list that’s long enough. I better put that on my shopping list.” Then I’m overwhelmed that my to-do list can’t even carry all things I need to take care of.  Ok, let’s forget the to-do list. My preferred plan of action is not having a plan at all. That’s right, my friend. I can allow myself to be a professional procrastinator if the occasion calls for it. I thought marrying a man would make me more organized and motivated. Or at least make me look better. But instead, I’m the one that is being asked to pick up my underwear off the floor or keep my paperwork semi-organized. Wow. That transition into superwoman didn’t happen as well as I had hoped.

Marrying a man that truly finds joy in being organized, having a dusted house and wiped-clean electronics doesn’t make it very easy to pretend to be organized either. I know we’re married, but I still have stories about my college dorm room I haven’t shared with him. Stories that would haunt and disturb him to his squeaky clean core.  Marrying a man who thinks being 10 minutes early is being on time has also stretched my “fashionably late by 20 minutes” habits.  During my sophomore year, my sister became a freshman at the same University I was at and we thought it would be fun to take some classes together. From the first day of our sisterly-shared classes, my sister regretted it. I always knew it took me an hour to fully get ready in the morning. But for a little reason I like to call “loving my sleep more than life itself”, (sorry Mae) I made us late for every class. It got to the point where she would say, “I love you, Heather, but I’m going to be on time today. You’re on your own. See you at class.” At first, I could convince her that I was just a couple minutes away from being ready to leave and she would wait for me. But then my baby sister wised up and figured out that 2 minutes meant 15 minutes in my language. And I usually had a stressful, hurried walk to class…alone. I take full responsibility for that. But if I could just add one thing…I was always dressed nicely and fully accessorized. Sometimes I even remembered to bring my textbooks.

Up until about a year ago, I worked tirelessly to make my father proud of me and love me. But love shouldn’t have to be worked for or earned, right? But as I was told what I was doing wrong, I immediately claimed how awful I was and tried harder to change into something different just so I could feel love and approval. Comments in my childhood, regardless of whether or not they were maliciously said to me, deeply scarred me. I went from thinking I could conquer the world, to wondering if I was good at anything. I went from thinking I was the prettiest girl in the room, to not eating for days at a time so that I could be somewhat attractive. I almost always had breakouts on my face, so layers of makeup went on to help complete the mask that I liked to wear to cover up the ugliness I felt.

Looking back at all of the defining moments that hurt in my life, I see God’s hand. Times I was laying in bed, knowing my decisions were not only hurting myself, but hurting the people I claimed to love, I still felt God’s grasp on my heart. He wouldn’t let go. I would cry and ask God why He still wanted me. There was nothing likable, much less lovable about me. At least that’s how I felt. I wasn’t interesting enough or beautiful enough to keep the attention of the people that I desperately longed for. I wasn’t the prettiest, the most talented or creative. I was just…me. And I was a MESS. I always viewed my messy life as a reason that I couldn’t be used by God for something bigger than what I was. I was empty. I didn’t have anything in me that could stack up against the people around me. I had no 5-year plan. I didn’t know what my plans were for the upcoming weekend, much less what I wanted to do after college or the rest of my life.

So long story short, I’m a mess. There’s no cute little box with a perfect little ribbon tied around this girl’s life. But despite my messiness, God has ALWAYS been faithful. And I think BECAUSE of my messiness, God is faithful. God never asked us to get our lives together before we accept Him into our lives. What I’ve learned is that it’s impossible to get to a point where I feel ready enough, clean enough, organized enough, pure enough, holy enough to approach a perfect, unconditionally loving God. I can’t do enough to earn His love. But that’s the thing. There’s NOTHING I can do to make Him love me. He just loves me. Let that soak in.

God loves you. Nothing you’ve done or will ever do will change the fact that Jesus died for YOU. He died for YOU. He welcomes your messiness.

Listen to what 2 Corinthians 12:9 says:

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.

So there we are. I’m a mess and God loves me. I am empty without Him. Anything good inside of me is from God. He is personal, loves unconditionally & pours out grace on me every single day. From the second my feet the floor in the morning, God has given me the strength & grace that I need to live that day; not just get through the day, but fully, abundantly & passionately LIVE. Because I am empty without Him & because I am weak, Christ’s power can be made perfect in that weakness! Praise God! I declare Him faithful!