True story: blending families is a big, fat, messy blessing. Sometimes it's filled to the brim with burdens and other times it coasts along carelessly as if this is how it was always meant to be. Without a doubt, God's plan trumps any taunting I try Him with on days when I find myself on my knees begging for direction because I've lost mine. I actually love my life as a blended momma--all broken up and blended into a remarried widow to wonderful man without a clue of the mixed-up mess in my head every day while he's away, a woman with two lovely strong-willed young girls from her body and three teenage step-daughters tangled in in a web of hormones bouncing between utter neediness and self-proclaimed independence....but mostly a God's girl who only knows her real identity when she's on her knees surrendering her rights and ways to His predestined work for me.
Yeah, that's a little bit of who I am these days. Messy, right? You'll hear more about my lovely little mess if you stick with me this year. But if you wonder where I've been, it's right there between all the blended roles and new responsibilities just trying to balance my big, fat, blended blessing! I'm finally ready to sit down in the beginning of a new school year and get back to my hand-crafted, God-gifted baby: my blog. Happily Whole is still where I feel most at home within the quiet walls when no one's home.
And while I've got wellness and new recipes ready to write about, God planted a different plan in my hands. Today when I sat down, took a step back and surrendered at my Savior's feet for a few moments of prayer, I realized that maybe confessing my mess is the best spot to take a moment of rest to restart. I'm sure from the outside, my smiling face seems all put together. But, you've yet to open my junk drawers and cluttered closets (which I'm also gaining reign on once again!). Dare I say we see this epidemic every day? The pretty picture with unseen imperfections. So many of us take the big, fat, mixed-up messiness of our lives and redefine it on our faces to appear polished and prestine. But if we go just a little bit deeper, just below the unscratched surface, we see someone else. The truth of who He made us to be sometimes hides behind the ways of the world or what everyone else wants of us, doesn't it?
So, instead of claiming what only Christ can claim, I'm going deeper and defining who I really am today: a blended up mess only redeemed by who God made me to be, a flawed woman full of failures only made complete because I'm His creation.
It's this message I want to teach my girls, too. In fact, I want them to hear it in their hearts so badly, so loudly, that my first blog back is inspired by and written for them. Here's the image and letter they will find on their dressers when they return home today as their messy, blended up momma finds and continuously redefines herself as the woman God's creating all along life's way:
My sweet girls,
Do not let the world define you! Do not let others around you tell you how you should look, what you should wear, what you should do or even what you should eat.
GOD made you an original…no one else ever created is just like you. No one has the same collection of interests, talents, body, special gifts, taste buds, family, home or future. God made all those things JUST FOR YOU. He even made special jobs for you to do throughout your life because He needs you to work for His Kingdom for those very reasons. When you try to be someone else or to please other people, you aren’t doing the work God put you here for. But, when you have faith and follow HIM instead of the world, your heavenly Father rewards you with purpose and blessings…just like I reward you when you do your special work for our family.
So, never let anyone else take those things away from you because they make what they are doing seem cooler, more fun or worth more. If you let the world or other people take WHO YOU ARE away, you will lose who God created you to be. And there is NO ONE better than who GOD made you to be.
Always BE YOU! And if you ever wonder who you are…ask GOD! He knows exactly who you are!
Love,
The Mommy God gave you (and HE knows who you need!)
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