They say, “A picture’s worth a thousand words”
Photo credit to Kelso T 🙂
Be honest, it’s pretty great!
While it says so much- (and blogging could be completed just by posting this picture and leaving the rest to imagination…) I’ll try not to spoil it by adding too many more words:
But I’d love to share what it does not say and as a result, what it does:
This picture of the boy doesn’t say, “My parents never loved me.” It doesn’t say, “My mom actually named me ‘Stupid’.” It doesn’t say, “I was a mistake.”
To me it says, “I am so loved.” It says, “I am only four years old and I am a really cute kid; I’ve been given the opportunity to live!” It says, “I am created with purpose.”
This picture of the girl doesn’t say, “She struggles with being afraid of everything.” It doesn’t say, “There was a time when she felt completely inadequate to ever hold a child.” It doesn’t say, “That’s not a very attractive nose.”
To me it says, “She’s pulling love from an unending pool of love that has been shown to her.” It says, “She is walking as a woman, pouring out love and compassion the Father desires her to share.” It says, “She loves with fearless, open arms.” It says, “She is created with a purpose.”
I feel like as Christians, we are so good at seeing what we think we are that we totally forget what we actually are. At least I do. Like, we freeze that “really bad” depiction of who we are and feed our minds with lies that we are unworthy, we are ugly, and we think, “with all this sin how could I be loved?”
But as Christians, when we hold our picture up to God of who we think we are, or what we’ve done… He has another picture He sees…
You know, that one of His Son hanging on the cross…
To others those pictures could say, “Weakness.” They could say, “Failure.” They could say, “Messy.”
But to the Father they say, “Forgiveness.” They say, “Hope.” They say, “Grace.” They say, “Redemption.” And they say, “That was for great purpose.”
So lately, I’ve gone through the mental slideshow of scenes in my life- and I’ve been thinking… If my Creator and Maker and Healer and Savior can hold up that picture and see restoration and grace and healing and beauty through His son, I can also.
Reader, I hope to encourage you from afar-
Yes, we’re a work in progress…yes, we fall short… but nothing, nothing, NOTHING will separate us from that redemptive love through Christ Jesus. Because we can bring him the nastiest picture we have and He says, “Yeah, my Son already redeemed that through His work on the cross.”
Be reminded that you have great purpose!
Be blessed
<3 J
