If you ever drop in unannounced on my doorstep, this is the person who will greet you at the door. This is me. I know, ugly, right? Hey, it's not my fault! Who asked you to stop in without warning, anyway?
I like to let it all hang out when I'm lounging at the homestead. When I get up in the morning, I pick up whatever is lying on the floor, throw it on, and voila! I'm good for another hundred miles. Make-up is only for special occasions, like weddings and funerals. It's way too much work to paint it all on and then scrub it all off later.
Mark is all too familiar with my funny quirks and hang-ups. For instance, he knows not to ask me any hard questions before I have my first pot of coffee in the morning. He knows I could hole myself up in the house for weeks at a time without the light of day ever shining on my face. And he knows that I prefer people make an appointment if they want to show up on my porch; he knows I don't receive visitors without warning.
All my life I worried that I didn’t look good enough, wasn’t smart enough or funny enough, or even happy enough. I was always trying to measure up to someone else’s expectations and standards. I never felt comfortable in my own skin. Halfway through my life I realized I couldn't keep this up anymore. I had to quit straddling the fence in my insecurities. I would either have to look gorgeous 24/7, provided that I didn't overdose on pizza or chocolate which causes me to balloon out like a whale and makes my face look like a dot-to-dot puzzle, or just get comfortable in my own skin. Trying to measure up was literally sucking the life out of me.
One day it occurred to me that this whole time I’d been feeling like the dirt underneath my shoes, I was sinning! Whether a person thinks too much or too little of themselves, it all falls under the sin of pride. I needed to find out what God thought about me, and then live my life like I believed what He said. And here’s what I found out:
I am God’s child (John 1:12). I have been bought with a price and I belong to God (1 Cor 6:19-20). I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child (Eph 1:3-8). I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins (
The other day Mark heard someone knocking at the door, and he went to answer it. A few seconds later I heard him yelling "Honey! Jim and Mary are here without warning!" Poor souls...boy are they ever in for a surprise.
