Trick or Treat!

Trick or Treat!  ohhh...I'm a little late on this one, aren't I?
Over the last couple of days, this phrase has been said many, many times by young and old alike.  We encouraged our youngsters to don masks and costumes, soliciting treats from the neighborhood.  Children were excited to dress up as their favorite super hero or maybe even a witch or a ghost. At the end of the night, they returned with a bounty of chocolate, gummies and other various sugar filled treats. Many people have gone to costume parties with their friends, anticipating who would be the most creative, scariest or funniest character in attendance.  The end of October comes and goes every year with the same fanfare of masquerade.
It is the rest of the year that has been on my heart recently.  I had originally thought about the masks that adults wear every day, but it occurred to me that there are many children wearing masks also.  They come in about as many varieties as one can find at a Halloween store.  Some examples are: "I've got it all together", "things are great at home", "class (or office) clown", "victim", "air headed", "tough guy",  "bully", "obnoxious", and "helpless".  These are the social masks we may wear daily.  These masks are the ones that hide our insecurities with hopes of being accepted, even if it's not really ourselves who are being received.  They hide our pains, our shame, our fears, our sadness and our vulnerabilities.  They hide things that we naively believe nobody else has ever experienced.  Often times, we lack the confidence to allow people to know us for who we really are or what we've been through.  After all, nobody could ever welcome us...if they really knew...
I want to encourage you today to take off your social mask(s).  Take the first steps to uncover the person who lives deep within.  Dig down to your core and think about what masks you wear and why you wear them.  If you're not really sure, take some time in prayer and ask God to uncover the truth for you.  Remove the layers of your facade, and begin to enjoy your life being you, being who you were created to be!

What are you thinking???

Do you ever think about what you are thinking about? Sometimes I have to remind myself to do this. I go on little episodes of "auto-thinking" and that can lead to danger. I have to stop myself from sliding back into my old thoughts and ways. You see, I've had a whole lot of practice with negative thinking. "Victim thinking", if you will. The thoughts that nobody is for you and everybody is against you and out to get you. Thinking that love is just a tool for people to get something from you or a method of trying to get ahead.  There's also the lie that every little thing that hurts my feelings was done intentionally, with the purpose of harming me.
It sounds absurd and it is.
Abuse has a way of ingraining these lies so deep within that they "become true".  Lies planted deep, cultivated and nurtured over many years. These lies are what built the foundation of the wall around my heart, to protect me.  The wall that was constructed became overgrown with weeds of control and anger.  The thing is, I didn't realize that I was believing and living lies.  I knew I had scars resulting from my abuse, but I thought that since I forgave my abuser, that was all I was called to do.  I didn't know that I could get beyond those scars.
I embarked on a journey this past year and it has been very challenging and difficult at times.  God and I have been busy at work, removing lies and filling the void with truth.  He is healing me from the scars I have bared for so long.  I think about things much differently nowadays...most of the time.  When I feel negative thinking setting in, I have to go back to God and ask Him to help me get back on track.
They say practice makes perfect.  I'm practicing thinking differently.  Thinking as a survivor, living in the freedom of God's truth!

Philippians 4:8 
The Message (MSG)

^8-9 Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

The Truth will set you free!

Life is peculiar. You learn a lot of things along the way. Many are helpful but then there are the destructive things also. Learning to discern lies from truth can be tricky when you've believed it all for so very long. Sometimes you just need to have someone lead you through and help you out of the mire. The future is definitely brighter when you can get rid of the dirt that has built up around you.

A year ago I started a journey that has changed my life. I began to sift through the things I believed, and with help, differentiating between what were truth and what were lies. It was an experience that involved much pain, as emotional scars of embarrassment, shame and guilt were exposed. A beautiful thing happened though. The pain was met with and surrounded by Love.

For many years, I just accepted my abuse and used it as my "excuse" to be angry, manipulative and controlling...and that is right where the enemy wanted to keep me. No longer do I tolerate this of myself. I am a survivor and the abuse I so identified with for much of my life, has lost its sting. You see, my God is much bigger than the abuse that I endured. My God is my comforter and healer! He is all I need... exactly at the time I need Him. I am His child and He designed me to love. It is not always easy but it is always worth it. I am learning to hear His voice above the noise and confusion that is daily life. I love hearing from my Father and look forward to it even when I'm not sure I like what he's telling me. Growing can be painful but I am eager to see where He is taking me. In many ways, life has gotten easier.  I no longer need to "always be right".  I know that my God is, was and will always be right, so as I calm my thoughts and focus on Him, He will speak the Truth to me.  His Love is never ending.  His Love is where I wish to dwell forever!

eternally,
gr8ful4Him