God Didn't Make No Junk!

The following is a quote from "A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II" written by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Like a tongue on a sore tooth, night magnifies. The light of day dissolves worry, but night enlarges fear. Loneliness is greater at night and stress swells like yeast in bread. Warm, reassuring, comforting light can be present night or day. As dense shade in deep woods can cause the owl to call out its nighttime song, so the dark makes us feel vulnerable. But one bright beam of sunlight can pierce the forest and hush the owl - so one bright beam in our spirits can dissolve darkness. We are not alone - and nothing is impossible.

No we are not alone. And what a comfort that is. We are blessed by the One who loves us most with His presence always. We do fall prey to loneliness and our own feelings of inadequacy at times, but have we forgotten who our Creator is?

I know I have and often do forget who I am in Christ. I paint a picture and everyone likes it. I mostly see the parts that I couldn't get just right. Someone gives me a compliment and my skin starts to feel weird. It is even hard to look the person in the eye while he or she is complimenting me. My mind goes immediately to the "yes buts" that are deeply rooted in my past. I make a list of things I want to do on a particular day. I place the optimum amount of chores and requirement without any consideration of whether it will be possible to accomplish the list in the time I have to do everything. At the end of the day I am feeling a failure and berating myself for what I did not get done. I don't stop to say, "Hey, Corinne, way to go, girl!" This behavior puts me in nighttime darkness regardless of the time of day. It can steal a woman's joy, and manys the times when I have allowed just that to happen.

Your son misses scoring a goal and his team looses or your daughter perfect chord at her piano recital actually sounds painfully dissonant. What would you say to your humiliated and heartbroken child? You would say things like...

• "Jack, you kicked that ball like a pro. You should be proud of your game, because everyone thought you did great. I am proud of you. Good job, son!"
• "Stella! Your performance was great. I know you missed that note, but do you realize that the music you chose was quite a challenge. Still, you wanted to play that piece. It was beautifully done, only that one chord, and you continued without stopping which was courageous. I am proud of you!"
• "I know you spilled your soda at the restaurant. Just last week Mommy picked up a glass of water and it slipped out of my hand and spilled all over the floor. I was sort of embarassed. However, you need to remember that it was an accident, Jody. Accidents do happen, you know."

We parent our children when they feel stupid, clumsy, or useless. However, we never parent the little girls inside of us who make mistakes and don't measure up to our expectations of ourselves. Be mommy to yourself and cut yourself some slack.

I think that the biggest problem is that we are fully aware of our underbelly. This makes us think we KNOW that we are unworthy on some levels. I like what Jan wrote in a comment on "Stinkin' Thinkin' "when she said she apologizes to herself when she has berated her psyche with bad self talk. I do try to remember that God is perfect and tell myself that GOD DIDN'T MAKE NO JUNK. We are made and valued by a God who is never far away. He loves us, and even when we mess up we can relax in the fact that He works around what we do and uses it for good even when it is not a part of His perfect plan for us. Yes, friends, we need to work on being the best we can and relax in the fact that He has a plan for us, but we also need to parent ourselves as God parents us. Then praise Him with thanksgiving for who we are.

Psalms 139:13-16:
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.