Kaleigh's Story
Let me give you the definition of 7th grade: sleepless nights of tossing and turning, bloodshot eyes and tear-stained cheeks. Okay—so maybe it wasn’t THAT bad. I didn’t have too many sleepless nights, though I do remember crying myself to sleep occasionally. I don’t remember my eyes being bloodshot and my cheeks stained, except for maybe a slight sunburn. What I DO remember though is this: constant teasing, name calling, and mean girls. Those are hard to forget. We all have a “7th grade” story/year. Remember when you were going through that super weird-awkward stage of life, your body was changing, and you didn’t look the same as you do now? Or, maybe you’re in that stage as you’re reading this (don’t worry, you outgrow it :) ). I don’t know about you, but my "7th grade story" was awful.
I can still vividly picture the faces of every girl who had embarrassed or hurt me in 7th grade. Don’t get me wrong, I have learned the beauty of forgiveness, but certain scars are permanent. The effects of what others had said and what I began to believe were becoming synonymous. When my body and physical appearance finally began to change, I still saw the girl everyone made fun of. It took years to mentally change how I viewed myself. Do you want to know my secret(s)? JESUS +
D A I L Y
SURRENDER I daily have to surrender the lies that Satan feeds me. Maybe you recognize some of them: “You aren’t good enough.” “You aren’t pretty enough.” “You’re too fat.” “You can never be forgiven.” “God won’t use you with your past mistakes.” Do you give Satan the victory by believing any of these?Don’t.
Give it to Jesus. Look at your reflection through the Gospels and not the mirror. Forget about worrying about the names the world gives you.
Embrace the names He calls you:
forgiven
loved
beloved
saved
justified and redeemed
accepted
new creature
no longer a slave
set free in Christ
chosen
holy and blameless before the Lord
My workmanship
My masterpiece
child of God Do you need me to go on? Maybe you struggle with which words to believe.
He loves you enough to die for you in the most horrific way possible, just for the chance that you would choose Him instead of the world. His words far outweigh what a few mean girls may say. I know their words are sill powerful and can have a lasting effect, but guess what? So do His. His words have influenced lives for over two thousand years. The choice is yours.
Who are you going to listen to?
