Transnistria has been seeping into our souls lately. In this dark place, hopelessness and lies run
rampant — kids think that the best they can aspire to be is a cook or an auto
mechanic and that the only place to be happy is anywhere other than here. Even Danik and Dorik, the two boys who we’ve
adopted as team brothers, believe these lies; they don’t know how to dream,
because they don’t fully understand who they are in Christ.
we’ve come to Transnistria. We walked
into a culture that does not value women — our identities in Christ are
commonly under attack on this Race, especially in this tired, grey country. I constantly feel like less than what God
says that I am, which is holy, beloved, chosen, redeemed. Instead, I feel worthless. I feel useless, incapable of effecting
change, lonely. I don’t feel victorious
or like the Richly Affirmed Daughter that I claim to be; I feel like I’m
pretending.
are too easily manipulated or hurt or led astray. No, our feelings often betray us, and
therefore we will not allow them to dictate our identities.
children holy. He calls His daughters
beautiful and worthy of love, regardless of our pasts or how we feel about
those words. He calls us sons and daughters,
friends and disciples, desired and pursued, powerful and contagious with joy
and light. He says that each of us is
His masterpiece, and who are we not to listen to Him? Who are we to tell Him that He is wrong?
His love and affirmation and identity to a bunch of ragtag kids who nobody else
pays attention to, and those lies have no place in our ministry. So we now we purposefully leave reminders of
who we are all over the place — specifically on our physical bodies. We’ve written words that are true all over each other’s arms — in
places clearly visible to ourselves and to others — and
these words speak louder than any of the lies that we feel.
breaks our hearts to say goodbye to these kids and especially to our beloved
little brothers, we will not validate our worries or fears about their
futures. Yes, they live in a dark
country. No, they don’t really dwell in
a hopeful place. But we know that they
are who God says they are — sons and disciples.
And we know that we are exactly who God says we are — His Richly
Affirmed Daughters In All Nations Triumphing.
So what lies are you hearing that don’t match up with what God says
about you, His holy and beloved child?
What word needs to go on your arm today?
Transnistria has taught me about listening to what God has to say about His people. I have been learning what it means to live in my true identity in Christ rather than what I feel or what other people say. Maybe you should listen for a little while today and let Him mark you as His own, because God loves truth and He loves it most when His children can walk in His true light.
