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Saturday, May 22, 2010

If she only knew me...

Have you ever found yourself surrounded by a bunch of Jesus-lovin' women and think that every woman but you is just a sinless creation that God loves way more than He ever could you?





Or gone on a girlfriend get away with a replica of the woman described in Proverbs 31 in every way possible, down to planting vineyards from her earnings? And you return home feeling less of a woman because you can't even sew a button back on a blouse.






Have you gone to a women's conference and been sitting amongst your group of sisters in Christ and while listening to their clean cut testimonies you soon find yourself comparing your life to your friends? And on the outside you remain smiling, but on the inside, you're cringing and thinking, "If she only knew who I really was..."? And the sad part is, that it's not even the impression she is trying to make on you, but her strengths crush your weaknesses.




In the eyes of the world we are told through magazine covers what we're supposed to wear, weigh and want in life. We're bombarded with the worlds view of perfection and if we buy into it, we will be left feeling like a failure.




But some of us can pull off the perfect Christian girl look.
We can look like we have it all together, but behind the walls of our heart we are just a mess.
A mess that only Jesus can handle all the details of.




We can look like this to others around us...


But on the inside, we can feel like this...






This is Alivia's doll that Aaron's dog Kane got a hold of recently.
Before Kane found Barbie, she was perfect.
But after a little time alone with her, even her plastic little self couldn't stop this canine from destroying everything Ken loves about her.
Soon, she was left with no feet, hands and on the left side of her body, not even an arm.
She has chunks of her face taken out and bite marks on the side of her thighs.


In real life, if we let him, Satan will do the same thing with us.
He will take bites out of our self esteem, demolish our hope and chew up the belief that we can ever be usable by such a great God.
The thought life of God and Satan when it comes to us, is so different.
The thoughts of feeling less when compared to your sister in Christ is not coming from the Lord. Satan loves messing with us and will do so on every level possible.
To know how God thinks of us, it's so important to be in His Word daily.
We should be in His Word so deeply, that when Satan does try to take a bite out of us, he tastes nothing but Jesus!

Jesus wants to use our past for His glory.
So many of us believe or have believed He can't or won't; that our lives are too much of a mess for Him to clean up, but He tells us different.
He can use anyone and if willing, He will.
Nothing in our past or our present is unusable to God.

So today, if you compare yourself with others...don't.
Not today.
Truth of it is, she's probably thinking, "if she only knew me".
Allow God to use you right where you are and don't worry about what you look like to others.
Two of my favorite authors and women of God are
Both have written life changing books.

Lysa's book, Becoming More than a Good Bible Study Girl

can be found here.


And Lisa's book, Behind Those Eyes

can be found here.


Both women to the naked eye, have it all together, but they will be the first to knock themselves off of any pedestal of perfection anyone tries perching them upon.
They are real women that love Jesus, who don't try to portray anything but Jesus in their lives.

If you have never visited them before, do so...you will be blessed.
On the right side of my blog, scroll down and you can see that we have done their books on the Yes to God studies before.
So, if you're looking for a great read to kick off your summer, one that will leave you closer to God when you finish the book, then grab one of these ladies books.


Have a great day and allow Jesus to shine through you and you're outside will be more beautiful than you can ever imagine.
A beauty so contagious that sooner than later, Mattell will just have to come out with a
Jesus-lovin' Barbie.


13 comments:

dailyseeking said...

Wow--great post! The visual of the messed up Barbie, a little shocking.

Tammy said...

Great post!!! I sure know what you mean.
love and hugs~Tammy

Connie said...

Only you Lelia would compare us all to Barbie and then show the Jesus loving Barbie at the end. Great analogies and why is it that we all compare ourselves to each other without knowing what's really going on inside?

Thanks again for a great encouragement!

Connie

elaine @ peace for the journey said...

Great post, Lelia, and an encouragement to my heart this day. Yes, I've been to those type of conferences and felt these exact emotions. I wish I always felt confident in my identity as a child of the King, but I don't. How grateful I am for the truth of God's Word that is readily available to me to help me reconstruct my self-image in accordance with the way that God sees me.

Thanks for the call recently. It blessed my heart to hear your voice!

peace~elaine

Sita said...

Lelia,
Love the last 'royal priestess' doll...that's totally you...and guess what been feeling like that chewed-up doll lately...like I've taken 10 steps back...you spoke to me, ...you're awesome!

Laura said...

I know that this is a very serious post with some very important points to make...but I just can't get over mutilated Barbie! Eek!

I think that is the all-time best visual for what the devil can do to a gal.

I love you, Lelia.

Kimberly said...

Wow. That chewed up Barbie. So identify with her. Have mercy. I mean really...looking at the "perfect" Barbie and then looking at the torn apart Barbie...it could about make you cry. The enemy...he can just rip us to shreds. You are so, so, so, so right about absolutely needing to stay in the Word. How thankful I am for God's Word!!!!

Love to you, sweet lady! And I wouldn't be surprised if some of those same ladies you were struggling with comparing yourself with were actually struggling with comparing themselves to you! I'm not saying that to give you a big head or to be all Miss Flattery. You are a wonderfully talented writer who LOVES her Jesus and shines Him brightly. Don't discount how precious you are. :)

Love to you,
K (a gal who does NOT have a squeaky clean testimony) :)

Runner Mom said...

"When Satan does try to take a bite out of us, he tastes nothing but Jesus!" Leliah, that comment was quite profound, my friend!That is my nugget from your post today!Great writing, chickadee!! I'll never look at Barbie again the same way!!
Love you!
Susan

Marcus Goodyear said...

I've never been to a women's conference (I'm a dude) but I find Barbie really interesting. She evokes really strong emotions from people.

I especially like the way you cast your dog as Satan prowling at the door ready to tear Barbie apart. That is a powerful, modern image!

As for Mattel's Priest Barbie, I assume you've seen Facebook Friends of Episcopal Priest Barbie.

(Laura Boggess sent me over here since I just published a book of poems called Barbies at Communion.) Her FAQs page is really thoughtful.

Debi said...

I can't tell you how much I needed to read this today. Wow what an eye opener. Thanks for opening my eyes to some thing I needed to hear.

Satan is on the prowl and will do anything he can to hurt us if we let him.

Rachel Olsen said...

I love those Barbie pics!

And I'll take you up on a trip to Haymarket if ever I get to come your way!

Hugs ~ Rachel

Jennifer said...

Love this post!!! So true too. I find myself comparing my story to others and think "whoa, if they really knew me they would run in the other direction". But God sees us so differently. He loves us no matter what.

My small group is wrapping up Lysa's book this week. We have all LOVED it!!!

Wanda said...

Really enjoyed this Lelia.