Every little girl has a dream. A doctor, a lawyer, a teacher, a singer….every little girl has a dream. Imagine this..the excitement on a little girl’s face as she runs to the front of the class and, with her pigtails bouncing in the air and her eyes wide open with joy, she shares with the world that she knows what she wants to be when she grows up. She finishes her speech and as she receives her applause, thoughts begin to form with the picture of the future. At that moment in her heart, an unwavering certainty hits that everything she is hoping for will happen. Fast forward to age 13. A time when little girls begin to blossom into young women. A time when curiosity arises and what was once innocent and pure becomes a blank canvas for the eyes of a teenage boy to paint his own picture. A time when identities are questioned and the need for affirmation kicks in. A time when pigtails turn into a twelve-inch honey blonde Beyonce ponytail with EcoStyler edges, curled ends, and an almost too tight outfit to match.
Little girls...
Age 16...her first prom. The dress, the nails, the shoes, the hair., the date. Only one thing is missing...the pearls. For centuries, pearls have been a symbol of beauty and purity. {Natural pearls are extremely rare. You may be able to purchase small, natural pearls, but they will be costly. Imitation pearls are usually coated glass bead. Most have a high luster, but not the depth of luster seen on high-quality cultured pearls. It's possible to separate an imitation from a cultured or natural pearl. It can be a challenge, though, to determine if the pearl is cultured or natural. And, many pearls undergo treatments to either enhance their luster or alter their color. Since this treatment affects their value, you will want to obtain the educated advice of a top jeweler - American Gem Society}. Adorned with her pearls, she looks into the mirror, thinking about the hopes and dreams of the little girl that once was and the vision of the woman that she will one day be.
Age 25...hope shattered, dreams lost, her mind won. She grew up on the outside but inside the broken little girl still lived. The little girl who stood in front of the class with hopes and dreams was living in a reality of disappointments and rejection. What she envisioned for her life was an opportunity to escape from the world that she had to face each day. All she wanted was love but what she continued to receive was far from it. So what happens now? What happens when, every day in her mind, the woman is standing face to face with the broken little girl? The more she suppresses her, the louder she cries out for what she always wanted. What happens when the thought of death continues to find its way inside her thoughts and her fight grows weaker by the moment? What happens when she discovers that the picture-perfect life is not the beautiful portrait that she had hoped for.
Broken…
Romans 8:37: “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” If you notice, the word “loved” is in the past tense. This lets us know that even before we encountered the hardships of life, God already loved us and it is His love that carries us through every hard moment. The scripture also says that we are “MORE than conquerors”. So what does all of this mean to you? Before we experienced the rough patches of our journey, not only was God’s love already attached to us, but in addition, He gave us everything that we need to overcome and destroy anything that would try to keep us from being who God called us to be. His love has never failed and it never will.
I speak to the little girl inside of you and I say, “it’s time to grow up.” One of the most amazing things about God is that we don’t have to work hard to be free. The Bible teaches us that freedom is in Christ Jesus so all we have to do is come to Him to get it. An imitation pearl might look authentic but when the expert looks at it, they have the knowledge and expertise to clearly see that it is not the real thing. So many women look for freedom in money, clothes, relationships, careers, etc., and still feel the void of not being good enough. My encouragement to you is that you look in the mirror and see the beauty of who you really are. In the midst of the superficial and temporary things around you, God, the Creator, will reveal the true beauty of His creation of you.
Restored...
So pick back up your hopes and dreams, allow God to breathe life back into what He put inside of you, and know that where you’ve been and where you are, won’t be able to compare to where you’re going.
{Image Credit: Click Pro Daily Report/Sunshower Photography}