A gift that keeps on giving...
It also happens to be one of my most favorite birthday gifts that I have ever received. It was given to me last year by a my dear friend. If you have ever had the privilege of meeting this lovely lady, you would quickly recognize that she’s one of the most thoughtful people that you’ll ever encountered (no joke, hospitality is her apostolate). She took the precious time to surprise me with this mug in the mail on my birthday and also surprised four of our mutually closest girlfriends on their birthdays. It took a year to complete her big surprise but now we all get to have our morning coffee “together.”
You may be thinking that it is my favorite mug because every time I look at it I think of some of my very favorite ladies on the planet- and you’d be correct. You may also be thinking that I love this mug because it reminds me each morning that I am “beautiful”… it’s like my personal cheerleader, shouting, “You're a strong, confident, woman!” But that isn’t exactly the internal monologue I hear in my head when I pull this mug out of the cupboard each day.
First of all, I feel like this mug should have had one more word on it: Mess.
“Good Morning, Beautiful Mess”… because most days I feel like an unorganized mess.
However, with each morning that passes by, I'm beginning to think that the mug not having the word “mess” across it is probably a good thing. Without the “mess” I am reminded of possibility. I read the words and the first thing I think of is God: His perfect love for me, His mercy, and abundant grace.
"Good morning, Beautiful" reminds me...
To be kinder to myself, to lay my insecurities at His feet and to throw away the exhausting lie of “perfection.”
To ask God to help me see myself through His loving eyes- the one who made me in His image, exactly the way He saw fit.
That while I see many flaws in myself, He sees all that He is capable of transforming me into, if I only give my “yes.”
Who knew that my morning coffee would be so inspiring? ;)
It was so nice to meet you at the conference this weekend. I have struggled with perfectionism my whole life (a gift from my mom), and whereas I have come a long way, some days I can be so hard on myself. If I can learn to see myself through God's eyes more often though, I bet a lot of my insecurities would fade away. Thank you for this lovely reminder.
ReplyDeleteIt was so great to meet you, Jennifer and I look forward to keeping in contact with you! I know the journey isn't easy, but let's make it a point to pray for each other that we may both learn to ourselves though His eyes. :)
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