Because Jesus

I’ve been wallowing a bit lately. Life has been really big and a lot to carry and there have been things. Lots of things.

Then a friend (who I sometimes want to punch in the face) reminded me that there are people in the world who’d love to live my worst day.

It’s true. I know it’s true. My life is pretty posh. I have amazing friends. My husband is smoking hot and a great provider and makes me laugh until my eyes leak. My kids are funny and smart and healthy…Dear God, my kids are healthy! I have a house with a roof and air conditioning which, frankly, I’m super thankful for because October is supposed to be fall but it’s not. Not yet. Not in Houston. 93. That’s what the thermometer read yesterday. 93. But I’m grateful. I am alive and I have a voice and I have freedom of speech to announce that 93 is too freaking hot for October.

But still; life has been full lately. Not full of the joyful, abundance kind of things. It’s been a little high on the stress side. The side where you don’t know what’s coming next and if you’re going to be able to handle it or not. The side where you start to beat yourself up for not having more faith. I don’t know. You may not know that side. You may live on the, “Yeah, I’m stressed but I always have faith in God’s sovereignty” side. I’m not as familiar with that side.

So I beat myself up and I wallow. I start to drop grace and live in deficit. I read the bible to look for proof that this whole life thing is probably not going to work out for me. I look deeply between the lines for reasons to believe I am the one failure that Jesus did not come to save.

What if, though? What if I relied on the truth of The Word? What if, for just a moment, I could get outside myself and see the love of my Father. What would I believe about myself if I believed that every stinking word in the Bible was true and written as a love letter to me?

I might just shut down my pity part and believe myself to be . . .

• Justified and redeemed (Romans 3:24)
• Accepted by Christ (Romans 15:7)
• Chosen, holy, and blameless before God (Ephesians 1:4)
• Forgiven (Ephesians 1:7)
• Righteous and holy (Ephesians 4:24)
• Made complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10)

(I totally stole that list of verses from Holly Crawshaw over at ParentCue.)

Every one of those things are true. Every last one.

I am redeemed.

I am accepted.

I am blameless.

Forgiven.

Complete.

I am this. These. Those.

All of it.

Because Jesus.

So it’s time to put my big girl panties on and put away my crying towel. It’s time for me to read The Word and BELIEVE. It’s time for me to practice what I preach and start proclaiming His truth in my life. Consider this my war cry. Because no matter what feels I’m having…Jesus. No matter what life throws at me…Jesus. No matter what falls apart or breaks or cracks or changes…Jesus.

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(This is Day 15 of a writing challenge I joined for the month of October. For a list of all the posts I have entered this month you can click here. To join a fabulous family of Clumsy Bloggers like me you can find more information here.)