Life Unscripted

We all want it. Some hide the desire deep down inside, others display it for the world to see. No matter who we are, or how bad we deny it, we all are looking for the same thing from someone. Anyone. Any…one?

Approval. It’s a very bitter drink. When we’re slurping those last few drops up the straw, we’re craving our next glass. A smile from someone. A kind gesture. Someone to notice our new bracelet that totally coordinates with our flashy earrings. A compliment. A look in our direction. Something. Any kind of common ground to connect our worlds, even if only for a moment. I’m proud of you. I love you. I need you. Hello..?

It comes in all shapes and sizes. It’s deeply rooted in us, and when we don’t get it, we cringe. Suddenly, we feel rejected. Neglected. Overlooked and ignored. Like we don’t exist.

Isn’t it crazy? We create all these perceptions of how we think other people view us. We think that because we feel a particular way, everyone else must feel the same thing. We’re ignored because we’re different. When we don’t get the response we were looking for, something is wrong with us. Perception is our reality.

I was sitting on Kendyl’s very small and uncomfortable bicycle seat for a while watching her play outside last night. The bicycle seat because there isn’t anywhere to sit in the common backyard at our apartment. We really need to get the girl a jelly cushion seat. If they still make those. And well, she wasn’t really playing. She was doing more observing the other kids having fun.

There my beautiful 5-year-old sat propped up against the trunk of the tree with her new blue guitar. Future rockstar in the making. Watching. Waiting. Strumming. And glancing back every few minutes at her familiar and safe place – mom’s smiling face. She smiled. I smiled. And her eyes were back on the game of souped up dodgeball baseball.

Sometimes I wonder what goes through her mind. But since mad skills as a mind reader come with being a mom, I thought I’d give it a shot this time. Man, this game looks like fun. I sure would love to play. I wonder if they’ll notice me. Me and my cool blue guitar. I bet they’d love it. I made up a song. Strum, strum, strum.. I wonder if they’d like it. I could teach them to sing. I love to sing. Jesus loves to hear me sing.

We all have this desire to be desired. We want so desperately to have someone else invite us to be involved in their lives. We walk by people every single day who crave some form of connection. Sometimes all it takes is looking up from our cup of coffee and nodding a silent hello. A gentle smile. With our eyes. That way they know we mean it. They want someone to be real because they’re sick of all the photocopies that walk the streets.

The sad thing is, we don’t realize this void we are all so desperately trying to fill can be filled until it’s overflowing. We don’t have a clue how much we mean to our Savior. And the fact that He has everything we’ve been looking for. We get so caught up in our broken expectations that I think we paint a false picture of how God views us. It says in Luke 12:7 that He knows even the very hairs on our head. Every hair. On our head. There’s only like, a few thousand of those? And He knows every one. He must care just a little. Or a lot.

He says in Psalm 139:14 we are wonderfully made. Psalm 139:17-18 tells us, “How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!” If that’s not enough proof that you mean a hill of beans (kicking it old school, baby!) to someone, how about the words from 1 John 4:9-10, “God has shown us his love by sending his only Son into the world so that we could have life through him. This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the payment for our sins.”

My darling, in this world we will have trouble. We are not going to fit in with every crowd and person we dream to. We will face rejection. Maybe real rejection, maybe just a false rejection we’ve made up in our minds. But one thing is for sure, we will never be rejected by God. He sent His son, Jesus, to die for us while we were still living in sin. Before we repented, He sent His precious son to be our exchange for death.

In His eyes, we are future rock stars. He sees our potential that lies hidden underneath these self conscious, self righteous, jacked up pieces of flesh we’re walking around in. And when He sees us propped up against a tree with our little blue guitar, He smiles and nods and boosts our confidence. He loves us so much. Do you feel it?

Ask Him what He feels about you. I dare you. Let Him show you the things in you that He absolutely adores. Even if you don’t think you mean anything to anyone else, the King of kings thinks you’re pretty awesome. The guy who hung the stars in the sky and knows them by name knows how many breaths you’ve taken since your first screaming breath as a newborn. He loves you. He longs for you. And He can’t wait to embrace you in His arms and say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

I double dare you to ask God today what He’s thinking about you this morning. He’s been up all night waiting to hear your voice.

Living Life Unscripted,
❤ Brittany