This is dedicated to all my little sisters, natural and spiritual, and to those older sisters who are little to Someone.
Dear ones, hear these words. This is my burden for every little sister in the family of God, for all who are struggling to gain their footing in a world of shifting sands; who are so close to realizing that their refuge is under the covert of His wings, in Him who is “the rock that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:2).
He sees the time spent in front of the mirror, time spent criticizing and covering up. He knows the questions you ask, the pride and insecurity you indulge in, the vanity that tugs at you. But underneath He sees a heart beating, a heart which He desires to fill with beauty until it glows in your eyes and laughs in your smile, until your soul weeps when He does and sings when He rejoices.
He knows the pain you try to hide. He has heard the whispered words that slapped you in the face, seen the betrayal of friends, and the little foxes that gnaw at your soul. He knows the dark secrets, the overcoming loneliness, the pain of nights spent crying into your pillow until you shake the bed, hoping no one can hear.
And He is there; He is crying too. The sins committed against you were committed against Him. He shares your rejection and knows every tear intimately. The rain outside the window on so many nights is the grief of heaven coming down for you; the thunder declares His anger. Yet in all this His purpose stands; His love will win the battle. You are a masterpiece in the hands of a great Painter. The shades of black and grey, the shadows and dark places, must be painted so that the end result will have depth and meaning.
He knows, too, the gifts and talents inside you. He knows the joy of your personality and the greatness of your dreams. Oh child, God is the ultimate dream-spinner. The rainbow threads you surrender to Him will be woven into a tapestry you could not have imagined. But they must be given up; they must be laid down at His feet to do with as He pleases.
He is your beauty-maker, your tear-bearer, your dream-weaver. He is the mother heart that will never forsake you. He is the hearth fire to keep you warm, though storms rage outside. He will take you by the hand and teach you how to dance, when the music is sad and when it is joyful.
Someday He may walk with you down an aisle and give you into the hand of a chosen man. Someday He may witness with you things you always wished to see.
Surely He will suffer with you; surely He will laugh with you. Some nights He will sing you to sleep, and some nights you will dance.
In you He is creating a lady, and in you He is creating a light. And one day He will claim you as His bride, and you will step over a new horizon and into a brand new world.
“Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all thy heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.”
(Zephaniah 3:14,17)
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This is an excerpt from Letters to a Samuel Generation, a book about knowing the mind and heart of God. I will be posting from this work until I finish Seeds 2 and can get back to writing new Matthew commentary later this fall. I hope it’s a blessing to you!
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Photo by Omid Armin on Unsplash
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