Sometimes the difficult truth of self-acceptance is best learned from the heart of a child.
She was about 6 years old with thick, brown ringlets draped across her pillow as she lay with folded hands to begin her nightly prayers. Her prayers were nothing grand. She spoke plain and simply to the God she knew very little of but trusted that He was as real as her best friend sleeping in the trundle next to her.
This was her time to thank God for the largest and smallest joys of her day, and nothing was left to chance. Thank you, God, for my friend, for my grilled cheese sandwich, for my bubble bath, and for my new polka-dot socks. Thank you for mommy and daddy, my bubbies, memaw and pappy, and for all of my pets – turtles, beta fish, hamsters, rabbits, and dogs; the order never changed and always signaled the end of her nightly prayers.
But this night was different as a smile broke on her face.
“Oh, and God, thank you for me! I’m glad I’m me.”
And there it was. The profound truth, spoken from the genuinely grateful heart of a child. My child.
Almost 20 years later, I still treasure the memory. This child who felt so loved, secure and confident in who she was at that very moment could do nothing else but lift her gratitude to the One who knit her DNA and breathed her cells into being. If I’d ever questioned before, I knew without a doubt, it was my calling to nurture her tender soul in such a way that no matter what the future held, she would always know the heart of her Father. And even more, that she would always know the heart of her Father for her.
Isn’t this the raw yearning of our own soul? Not just to know the heart of our Father, but to be confident, safe and secure in His heart for us? Because we know in our core that if we allow ourselves to really grab hold of the depth of His love for us then perhaps we’d find a way to walk confidently through this life with an unshakeable assurance that we are the apple of our Father’s eye.
We can release the past.
We can smile at the future.
We can rest in every part of today.
We can walk with confidence. Not because of what we’ve done. And not because of who we are. But because of whose we are.
When we know whose we are - it changes everything, and it changes US. Share on X
This belonging shapes our identity and our path. All the unknowns become bearable because we are known. Each fearful chasm becomes a leap of faith because we trust that we are held. And every difficult trial becomes one more opportunity to crawl up into the lap of our Father for comfort because we are deeply and profoundly loved.
We are a work of love and our identity is a reflection of that love.
An enduring love that promises security. An everlasting love that promises hope. And an eternal love that promises a place of belonging. A love that’s alive and active and pulsing throughout every moment of our days.
So, let’s stop wading in the shallow end where our identity gets muddied up by the debris of life and make the choice to trek out toward the deep end with the innocent confidence of a child who knows her Father holds her heart even when she cannot see or feel His presence.
We are a work of love and our identity is a reflection of that love. Share on XLet’s choose to trust that His plans for us are good because we belong and we are loved. We can let go of the burden of shame and guilt and regret because what’s waiting for us is a gathering and forgiving love. Let’s throw away the lie of comparisons and “less than’s” for the truth that we are accepted and we are enough.
At the end of the day, when things get tough and we want to crawl under the covers and hide, let’s peak our head out and find refuge in the light of the One who loves us deeply, immeasurably, and unreservedly.
Let’s fill the night air with words of gratitude. For the largest and smallest moments of our day. Let’s leave nothing to chance.
And let’s claim the joy of our God-given identity.
“Oh, and God, thank you for me. I’m glad I’m me.
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From the ‘Its So Good’ Collection…
bloom daily planners 2022-2023 Hardcover Academic Year Goal & Vision Planner® (July 2022 – July 2023)
(includes inspirational identity quotes)
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