Do you ever try to find yourself in those around you? Ever just wonder if everyone likes you for who you are? I do. I get caught in this twisted tornado about being accepted by others. I get lifted up in this storm that only brings rain to my day wondering if everyone likes me. We can all do this. We want to be loved and accepted by everyone, and when someone doesn't like us, what do we do? We sit and not just ponder over why but just down right get stuck in the mud over it.I have always just wanted to be liked and if someone didn't like me I thought it was the end of the world. Even though I am a grown woman now, I still get caught in the mix of feelings of why doesn't someone like me, why don't they talk to me, and my heart begins to ache.
But the thing I must remember is that I choose to love a God others do not like. I love a Savior that others hate. Can you see Jesus in His ministry walking through the desert reaching others? Can you see those friends circled around Him lifting Him up? Now, take a wide lens look and you can those who mocked and scorned Him. In the midst of His ministry there were those who stood by His side and those who chose to walk far away. Why should my life be any different?
Does it really matter if everyone likes us? If everyone liked us we would indeed be a people pleaser. We can't be everyone, we can only be ourselves, who God created us to be. There will be those who have the same passions as we do. Those will come into our lives with the same quirky personality and we will just click. We will have special bonds with some and others we will have quiet hellos as we pass.
There is a quiet peace in knowing who you are in Jesus. It is right there in the cleft of His love that you will find the real you. You won't find the real you in others, or in what others expect you to be. It takes us forever to finally realize it is not others who make us who we are, but it is Christ Jesus. For me, I am still growing into that person God has called me to be. In doing so I find changes everyday as He is moving through me.
When you are trying to live as Jesus wants, as we are trying to be true to who we are and finding that real person behind the faces there will be those who do not understand us, and those who we will have kindred spirits with. In real friendships, those who call themselves friends are there with you through thick and thin. You will find those friendships tucked in the most unusual places. I have learned to come out of my box, and in doing so the Lord is changing me as well.
We don't have to be Mrs. Personality. We don't have to fill out a form to share all we are with another to see if we fit there perfect description of a friend. I have learned to not look and see who is not around me, but open my eyes to who is standing next to me. All we must do is love our Lord and Savior. He is the Friend you want on your side and He is the Friend who will always be there. He will love us no matter the cost, as He knows the cost all to well of love, a love that He is ready to give and share.
So as you wake this morning with your hair on one side of your head, your baggy shorts on, and all those dreams spilling around in your heart, reach out and just be who you are meant to be with a passion that only comes from Christ. Don't count how many friends you have as you begin your day. Find yourself blessed by those close to your heart. Count your blessings one by one and you just might find yourself busy in praising God for all He is doing in your life.
I have learned to expect the unexpected. I have learned that the only person I can change is me, and the only one who looks in my mirror at night is me. If we waste our time on trying to be what everyone else wants us to be, we will never find out just who Christ has called us to be!
Psalm 139:14 "I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well."
You are a workmanship of the hands of God. You are a bright flower to Him. Wherever He has placed you, set your roots deep in His love and grow right where He has planted you. Just by being you, you will bring glory and honor to Him.
