I can remember the safety I felt as a little girl in my parents’ arms. When we would venture out to new gatherings as a family, I could easily tuck myself away by grabbing onto a parent’s leg,
nuzzling my head into their thigh, and pretending that no one saw me.
It was easy for me to ignore the unknown and run to the safety of what I felt was comfortable. I knew my parents accepted and loved me as I was and I didn’t need to put myself out there, risking the embarrassment of disapproval from strangers.
I distinctly remember one such embarrassing incident. I had decided that I was going to play with the neighborhood children. I was shy by nature, so it was a colossal step for me to initiate and seek the friendship of others. I set my sights on a neighborhood boy who was my age and seemed friendly enough.
One evening I followed him to a field adjacent to our home, hoping that we could play together. As I raced to catch up with him, I noticed he stood frozen in the field with his back turned toward me. He was quiet as a mouse.
When I asked him if he was okay, he turned around quick as lightning, smiled a devilish grin, and proceeded to pee all over me!
I was stunned. Shocked. I couldn’t even move. My mother was furious. We marched straight to his house and confronted his family, as he proceeded to jump on his sofa in his superman pajamas, oblivious to the insult he had caused.
That was the only time in my life someone intentionally peed on me, thank God—but there have been a select few relationships since then where I have felt like I’d been peed on.
Have you ever felt this way in a relationship? Hurt, embarrassed, ashamed, angry—the feeling can make you want to close your heart and life off to future relationships. But we were never meant to live alone.
No matter what you’ve experienced in the past, if you’ve lost the courage to connect, I'd love to gently restore it in the depths of your character.
Connectedness takes courage. It takes honesty and vulnerability. In the end, it is only true connectedness that will help you walk victoriously in every season of your life.
Living a courageous life at its source is connectedness to God above all else. His is the only
relationship that can bring true courage to your life. Finding your identity and acceptance in Him brings assurance, safety, and all the love you need to walk safely and confidently into your future.
A relationship with God is what we were made for. All of creation rises in an anthem of praise while each part of my being joins in the chorus, singing ancient melodies that echo, “Life is all about Him.”
So ask yourself this question: How connected are you to God? Now, before you say, ‘I’m doing great, we are BFF’s through and through,’ let me give you some context of courageous connectedness through a paraphrase of the story I’m about to share ... next week.
"How can I open my heart to connectedness to God and others this week?"
Ps. If you're in the Denver area we'd love to invite you all to come out and connect with us at our Flourish Women's JOY event. Click here for more details.
Photo Credit: Jonathan Borba from pexels.com
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