Beginnings.
So let’s start at the very foundational cornerstone of our journey.
That beginning would be… God.
YOU know…”in the beginning God created…” Genesis 1:1
He is the beginning of everything.
The Creator.
The Source.
And He created YOU!
If you haven’t accepted Him into your heart and life yet, go here first. (The Prayer That Will Last For Eternity: The Most Important Prayer You’ll Ever Pray)
Or just keep your heart open to the possibility of Him…and keep reading.
So, right now, I want to say that, today, no matter what stage of this blooming process you are in, and even if you have been damaged in some way—that your soul/your emotions have grown in what you may think is a stunted or deformed way—right now…TODAY…
You are beautiful.
You are loved.
You have great worth and value.
Absolutely and positively. All three. Right now.
Even if you don’t do one more thing.
Even if you stayed just the way you are.
God thinks you are beautiful.
And He loves you.
And NO ONE WHO LIVES, OR WHO HAS EVER LIVED, OR WHO WILL EVER BE BORN can take your place—can relate and contribute to the people and world the way you do.
You are entirely unique and irreplaceable.
You were carefully formed and fashioned by Him.
Do NOT just read the following portion of scripture. No. Reading can be too fast and very dry. I want you to chew on and savor and visualize every amazing and power-packed word. See yourself being knit and woven together. Imagine all the days of your life being written in God’s book!
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed. Psalm 139: 13-16
Yes. You were made on purpose for a purpose.
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 ( once again–the theme scripture for “Born to Bloom”)
You were equipped by God with gifts and talents so that you can fulfill what He made you to do.
And even though we are completely and perfectly equipped for this unique blooming, there is a process we must go through—just as a farmer must go through a process to reap a crop.
In these writings, you will find the pieces and parts of the process.
And I don’t think it is quite as orderly as what a farmer does. At least it wasn’t for me. There were so many layers of dirt. So many. A lot of pain, growth, and changes to go through. I had to.
And so many discoveries and revelations to be made.
I believe it will be the same for you.
With the Holy Spirit as our guide (and “revealer”) and the Word of God as our sure foundation, and “The Vine” of Jesus to hang on, we can find our way—our way back and through and over—to becoming all He created us to be.
And as we allow these changes and shifts to take place in and through us, we will find the confusion, depression, comparison, anger, low self-esteem, envy, fears, lack of purpose, and more, fall away—like the shell of a seed when the seedling breaks through.
Freedom. Joy. Purpose. Overflowing love. Inspiration. Connection. THIS is what we will find.
The moment we change our focus is the moment that change begins.
It will become more and more clear as you hang out with Him on that Vine. All the pieces will come together and you will see…
So, for now meditate on the fact that you have value and worth RIGHT NOW—just the way you are.
Believe that.
And if you don’t believe it right now, at least try to believe that it could be possible that it’s true. { Because it is! }
And that there is hope that as you begin this journey of blooming in your unique way, you will know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are God’s very loved creation and child.
Once we get that foundation set and settled, we usually start having the freedom to begin sensing something deep inside that says…I was made for something more. I have things I want to do. I have dreams I want to pursue. Why…I think I might have some buds just waiting to bloom!
But we all need help in our “becoming” and producing the best blooms we have inside of us. We usually need friends and mentors to encourage us in our journey and life-path.
Friends who will walk beside us.
Mentors who walk before us and shine a little light on the path.
Some will be with us for a lifetime. Some for a part of the journey. God knows how to make the perfect connections.
All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 AWESOME!!
I would be honored if He chooses me to be one that walks alongside of you, and/or in front, lighting the path on your journey to start blooming—even for just a portion of that journey.
This is what I love to do. This isn’t a little experiment or hobby for me. It’s not some money-making endeavor or idea. The Lord knows I have never been a business woman!
But I have been “in the business” of encouraging and helping women (and some men) to see their worth and value for a very long time. Just not in this kind of format.
It was time…
And… because it was time for me to do this, I also know that it’s time for you to be here right now with me…reading these words.
I think women are amazing. I do.
And it pains me to see women struggle so much with their identities, their abilities, their matchless WORTH!
{ Actually, it grieves my heart more than I could ever express. }
The precious gifts that women bring to the world are beyond description and beyond compare.
Women have strength and beauty and compassion and courage that come from a wellspring of Life within.
Sometimes that well gets clogged, but there are ways to set that life-force free.
I believe that we all need “something of our own”—that we need a way to express our God-given gifts.
If we go too long not doing what we are created to do and being who we are created to be…we start to die. Emotionally. Spiritually. Creatively. Even physically.
Without a purpose, life is motion without meaning, activity without direction, and events without reason. Without a purpose, life is trivial, petty, and pointless. ~ Pastor Rick Warren, “The Purpose-Driven Life”
We can get depressed, angry, stressed, jealous, sullen, withdrawn, numb, and joyless—yes, even as children of God, saved by grace and with our faith in Jesus Christ.
The full blooming of our unique personhood is a process that takes us beyond the salvation experience.
Yes, we become new creations in and through Him. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (My favorite scripture, by the way).
But then we are supposed to begin the development and change and unfolding of our true self.
In “Christiandom” we would call that sanctification, a renewal of our minds, and spiritual formation.
But how? How can we become who we are supposed to be?
LINK: “Let’s Get Started, Part 2”