Do you carry around a measuring stick?
Last Friday I introduced you to Kaye Wilson.
She is a beautiful, intelligent, well-educated, capable woman.
She has 5 wonderful children, plays the piano, speaks french, and is a certified parenting coach. (which means she literally “knows” how to parent, right?)
If I put my measuring stick between the 2 of us, I come up short!
Children
Kaye 5 / Rebecca- 1
Education
Kaye- well-educated /Rebecca -never finished college
Gifts and Talents
Kaye- piano and fluent in French
Rebecca- quit french horn in High School and after 2 years of French class, can only say, “Hello, friend.” and “How are you”.
Even though Kaye far surpasses me when measured, she and I have something in common.
We have struggled with self-confidence.
My husband I attended the Army Ball a few years ago.
I bought a beautiful dress, amazing shoes (that tortured my feet), and was having an epic hair day!
I lost some weight, firmed up and felt sassy!
The Husband was all decked out in his Dress Uniform! (Hello Soldier, wanna make out in the elevator?)
As the evening progressed, the time came for a potty break.
Fix the makeup, tuck everything BACK into the Spanx, (it’s amazing how “stuff” migrates out-of-place) and make sure my hair hadn’t deflated.
As I walked towards the bathroom, I saw a woman looking at me with her eyes WIDE OPEN! It took me a moment, but then I realized.
We were wearing THE SAME DRESS!! (Raise your hand if you’ve had that happen!)
I could have smiled, said something witty, and shrugged it off.
Wanna Guess what I did???
I took out my measuring stick. (Not literally! No room left in my Spanx.)
She was taller, younger, thinner, and looked amazing in “our” dress.
The rest of the night, I made sure I didn’t get too close to her.
If I did, everyone else would find out what I already knew.
I didn’t measure up.
Break the measuring stick of comparison. Click To TweetMeasure up to what?
Cindy Bultema recently said, “Satan may tell you what is true, but he will never tell the Capital T Truth.”
What does that mean?
It’s true that she was taller, younger, and thinner.
Does that make her more valuable than I am?
What if it was the other way around?
Would being younger, thinner, and taller make ME more significant?
Of course not!
Thinking it doesn’t make it true.
Even if it IS true, is it the “Capital T” Truth?
What is the “Capital T” Truth?
You were created in His image. (Genesis 1:27)
You were fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:14)
You have value. (Matthew 10:31)
You have been saved by grace. (Ephesians 2:8)
You have security in Christ. (Romans 8:39)
You are the light of the world. (Matthew 5:14)
You have a glorious future. (Romans 8:18)
Undoing 41 years of listening to things that may be true (or complete lies) but aren’t the Capital T Truth is difficult.
Acknowledging brokenness without restoration is uncomfortable.
That is what this season of my life is about.
Who do I believe I am and does that line up with the Truth?
Am I willing to walk in a manner worthy of my calling?
Are you?
What a relevant post! I think we all get out our measuring sticks without even realizing or intending to – it just happens. And we won’t even discuss Spanx. I squirm just thinking about it!
One thing I have learned is never to see myself as superior OR inferior to anyone else. That was a hard lesson to learn, especially the inferior part. Remember, the foot of the Cross is level ground. We are all under the blood of Jesus. All of us. That’s pretty equalizing. And immeasurable!
God bless!
Thank you for a great post. We were created, that is enough.
Amazing post! So much truth to this and most likely resonates in some way with all of us, Thanks. Lisa
Oh my goodness! I just finished listening to a teaching video and instead of gaining from the awesome truth being spoken I compared myself with the speaker! “She’s my age and has so much more knowledge. She speaks with such confidence. She can quote scripture like you can’t believe. I’ve wasted my life!” LOL! Thanks for your very timely post!
Rebecca, this is such Truth (with a capital ‘T’). It’s so easy to measure ourselves against others when the real standard is Christ — thankfully he’s full of grace! Or else none of us would ever be good enough.
Thank you for sharing your heart. I’m so happy I found your blog and all the encouragement you have here.
Rebecca, Your post came at such a good (God-appointed time!) for me. A new opportunity came along to me the other day and while it was exciting, it was also really scary. Starting my blog was a big leap of faith for me (as you already know) – so putting myself out there even more scared the tar out of me. And your post reminded me that it doesn’t matter what people think of me…my security is in CHRIST. My value is in Him and what He did for me. Not what people say or think of me. It’s so easy to get focused on what people are saying instead of remembering the T (capital T) *smile* Truth of who I am in Him and what He thinks of me. So thank you for this encouraging reminder of our worth in Christ alone. You are a blessing to so many. I hope you know that. Hugs from MN…
[…] consciousness creeps in and I can almost visualize the measuring stick they are pulling […]
[…] Who am I? What do I want? What do I believe? What is the Capital T Truth? […]