Wonderfully Complex
Sometimes life can cause so many feelings and emotions. With all those feelings and emotions, we’re left with many different thoughts. The times that we feel great, we have thoughts of accomplishment, self-worth, and success. However, when we feel down, we have thoughts of regret, inadequacy, and failure. It’s the latter feeling, that can take an ugly turn for the worse….
I FEEL Horrible
As you all know, I am a wife and mother of 8. (Read: Finding strength after losing a child) I am a full-time homemaker and homeschool teacher. I also serve with my husband as the youth ministers at our church. Believe it or not, even with all this that I have going on, there are many times that I FEEL horrible. I know, I know… what do I have to feel horrible about? Well, whatever the enemy wants me to focus on at the moment.
I have thoughts of regret. I think about the many mistakes I’ve made over the years. I wonder if life would be better if I hadn’t of made those mistakes. Maybe if I would’ve started saving at an earlier age or maybe if I had of focused more in school, I or we would have an easier life. I, have thoughts of inadequacy. I really don’t seem to clean very well. I don’t necessarily balance our accounts well. I seem to never say the right things when trying to give advice. I, yes, have thoughts of failure. I feel that I fail at being a wife, at being a mother, at being a friend, and at just being a God-fearing woman.
I'm not the only one
Subsequently, I have a strong feeling, I’m not the only woman who has ever felt this way.
One thing about women, we are strong. No, not like our strong male counterparts. We have the unique strength that God specifically gave to women. With that strength, we have the tendency to front and not want to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. We like for everyone to think that we have it all together. That is a natural part of our self- esteem building process. So, this may not be a typical read for most of you because I am putting it all out there for the whole world to see.
I am not perfect, and unlike most social media sites, I’m not just wanting to give you that perfect shot of a perfect woman. I want you to see, no filter, a real woman with real issues. Speaking sincerely on how to not allow the real feelings and thoughts of regret, failure and inadequacy, take you into the deep feelings of despair and depression.
The only tangible way to escape these momentary mental realities, is to counteract what the enemy tells you, with what God calls you….
The only tangible way to escape these momentary mental realities, is to counteract what the enemy tells you, with what God calls you….
Psalm 139:13-18 (NLT)- 13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 16 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. 17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! 18 I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!
The enemy has one goal, and that is to take us completely off of our mark. He loves when we are down on ourselves and talk bad about ourselves. At the same time, his lies are not what we are to focus on.
(2 Corinthians 11:3 NLT…. your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.) This is why God tells us to focus on Him and not ‘the father of all lies’.
When we wake up from the lies and deceit, God and His power, is still with us. Throw regret out with remembering that God recorded everyday of your life, every moment laid out, before a single day had passed. Do away with inadequacy by telling yourself that you are “Wonderfully Complex.” His “workmanship is marvelous”! If ever there is thought of being a failure, take note at how precious are His thoughts about you. You can’t even count them.
How awesome is that! How truly amazing is our God!
Those momentary feelings of self-doubt, are real. They can knock you completely down and out if you let them. What we have to wholeheartedly believe is that those lies don’t stand a chance against the full armor of God. (Ephesians 6:11) His word= food for the spirit, producing unshakeable strength. With that, we, women, wives, and mothers will no longer have to put on the front of a perfected, social media type, filtered… strength. We will be able to tell the truth about the Wonderfully complex strength uniquely given to us by our one true God!
Be Faithful, Be Free
E. Young