Slugs

Photographer: Bill Williams (Retrieved October 17, 2015 from https://unsplash.com)

After a restless early evening, processing the stress that accompanies work and managing adult responsibilities, I drifted back to sleep.  Although the exact details of my dream are still fuzzy, I distinctly remember stepping on a slug and scraping its remains on a stairwell step I was climbing. 

I awoke and googled the significance of slugs in the Bible.  I couldn't find a scripture or any scriptural commentary that could support my reasoning of the dream's significance.  I visited Wikipedia and learned that slugs are in the habit of eating fruits and vegetables before they are ready for harvest; the fruit is left with holes that make it vulnerable to disease.  The Wikipedia entry went on to detail that slugs can be killed with salt.

Immediately, my spirit jumped to Matthew 5:13 which declares that we are the salt of the earth.

The slugs in our lives, those things sent to destroy our fruit - debt, depression, insanity, fear, and the like - don't stand a chance because we are the weapon, the salt, that can defeat them.  

In an act of agreement with this revelation, I am throwing salt on my car note and declaring that the debt will be erased in Jesus' name! Ha!  Dramatic - I know.  But I'm believing it!

God has equipped us to overcome.  Take time to pray today, in accordance with the truth God outlined in His Word, that your slugs are defeated because you are the salt of the earth.  And prepare yourself to experience the wondrous glory - goodness - of God in your circumstances!

Distortion

Genesis 1:27 - So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

On those not so pleasant mornings, the ones when I wake up on the wrong side of the bed, I shuffle to the bathroom and stare in the mirror.  "Are we really doing this again today?"  On those days, there appears to be a misalignment of my feelings and the routine set out for me.  

The image reflected back at me is dull.  I am not excited to start the day.  On particular mornings, the image is not only dull but desperate.  I see the face of a young woman seeking approval and acceptance, feeling as though she is lacking both.

One morning, I sought out the lie I was believing about myself, that I am not worthy, and was hit with a revelation.

The enemy cannot create; he can only counterfeit.  He did not and cannot make man in his image. [We were made, fashioned, formed, created in God's image.]  So, the enemy will hold up a mirror to reflect an image to you... but, the mirror is awash in distortion.  You see the image - a lie - and you start to believe it.

By Kaleb Nimz.  Retrieved August 30, 2015 from https://unsplash.com/.

With this insight in hand, I refuse to subscribe to the distorted image the enemy wants me to see.   In this pursuit of Christ, my final appearance will be like God as demonstrated by Jesus's human walk.  I will look like a humble, kind bond-servant committed to seeing the kingdom manifest here on earth.  As a child of God, I am formed and fashioned in righteousness and am greatly loved by the one who calls me daughter and friend.  Any thought that presents itself in contradiction to the truth of who I am in Christ will be cast away and my heart, repositioned to look upon the Father for my true resemblance.

Thank you Lord for the truth!  I count it a privilege to look like you, to carry the family resemblance as I walk this earth.  Continue to mold me.  I will seek you, always.  

Free

I strutted down the hallway.  In a sense, I Olivia Pope'd it.

I had my new eyewear on.  I had already slipped into my comfy flip-flops.  My arms were out.  My hair, moisturized, bouncy, and swaying in its natural-ness.  The weather in Atlanta was spring-time perfect - you know soft sun, gentle breeze, and all that jazz.

I approached my apartment door.  And with a step, I heard a pulse.  The "pulse" said, "You're free."

Days before, I facilitated public health discussions with colleagues in North Carolina.  During the discussions, I was sometimes quiet and when I did speak, I stumbled over my words while trying to articulate myself perfectly and appear competent.  (I was trying too hard.) By the end of the visit, things sailed smoothly and I contributed valuable information to the discussions.  But of course, I beat myself up concerning the missteps.  "Elise, you should have explained it this way!"  

When I heard "free", I burst into tears!  In the hallway!  It hit me right in the insecure place of my heart.  I'M FREE.  I'm free to misspeak and to be misunderstood.  I am free to feel sexy and beautiful.  I am free to laugh out loud and snort when I do.  I am free to exude both confidence and naivete.  I am free to receive compliments and gifts.   I am free to love my dog - and instruct everyone around me on how to love her too.  I am free to say "no" and "yes".  I am free to work diligently and also to procrastinate.  I am free! 

Psalm 118:5 reads, "In my anguish I cried to the Lord, and he answered by setting me free."

I've experienced plenty of anguish-filled nights.  My prayers, some answered and others still swishing around this nebulous atmosphere of heaven and earth, have been filled with pleas for relief, rescue, and comfort.  The Lord has answered by setting me free!  He has set me free from the laws of sin and death.  He has delivered me from lies.  I identify with Christ.  He calls me His own.  I am free to love God and to be loved by God, to know God and to be known by God.  I am free to stumble and receive His Grace and Mercy.   I am free, y'all!  And I'm not turning back.

Vulnerability

I sat, naked and alone.

I awaited the doctor's entry into the room.  Clothed with nothing but a paper vest and an equally fragile paper blanket across my lap, I felt insecure. 

I suddenly remembered all of the moments when I felt helpless.  I felt helpless when my mother battled her anxiety and depression. I felt helpless when I thought I would never make it through graduate school.  I felt most helpless when I believed God had forgotten about me.

My renewed mind kicked in.  Scriptures rose from the depths of my heart.  I heard, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."  I heard, "The Lord is near to all who call on him."  I recaptured, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe."

Immediately, as I meditated on the truth communicated through these scriptures, an overwhelming feeling of peace washed over me.  

The appointment proceeded as routinely as expected.   And throughout the visit, I worshiped God for being near, dear, and ever so comforting in every aspect of my life.

Wait