#genreal

John 17:26 “I made Your name known to them and will make it known, so the love You have loved Me with may be in them and I may be in them.”

2 Corinthians 3:18 “We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

Isaiah 52:1 “Put on your strength and your beautiful garments…”

A little girl twirls in her fancy dress, balancing on her tiptoes in shiny black shoes. As she spins, she looks down at the ruffles flaring around her tiny hips and smiles. Then she looks up and risks it all:

“Am I pretty, Daddy?”

A teenage girl scoots up close to the boy she hopes she can trust. She twists her hair up into a messy bun, pulling a few curls loose to frame her face, soft and feminine. She smiles into the eyes of the one to whom she has given her heart and risks it all:

“Am I pretty?” she asks.

A young wife, her body changed by the process of carrying and nursing her first child, stands before a mirror, critically surveying the stranger that is herself. Uncertainly, she puts on the outfit she has just bought in an attempt to flatter this new woman’s figure. She turns to face her husband, who has not changed the way she has changed, and risks it all:

“Am I pretty?” she asks.

As women, we live in a tragic state of vulnerability when we make physical beauty the measure of our worth. We know this, and we hate ourselves for succumbing to it, yet we persist in forming our identity by the reflections we see in the mirrors of other people’s eyes. The solution to this is not to stop seeking beauty. It is to look into a different mirror!

Scripture teaches us that when we place our faith in Christ, our identity is merged with His. In John 17, Jesus speaks to His Father about us, and this is what He says: “I have given them the glory you have given me… I made Your name known to them…so the love You have loved Me with may be in them and I may be in them.” (v.22, 26). 

Paul expands this idea with the mirror metaphor. Paul says when we gaze steadily into the “mirror” of Christ, we grow to resemble Him more and more. We start to wear that glory that Jesus talked about like a garment, and it is beautiful on us! God does not want His daughters to be insecure, cringing and groveling before the eyes of people. He bids us to stand up tall and be both strong and beautiful, confidently wearing our identity in Christ, growing to resemble Him more each day.

Do you need some help finding your strength and beauty through your identity in Christ? Follow GenReal on Facebook and Twitter as we prepare for our upcoming event in October, 2017. Visit the GenReal website to stay connected, and spread the word!

Psalm 7:9b “The one who examines the thoughts and emotions is a righteous God.”

Psalm 119:26 “I told you about my life, and you listened to me.”

1 Peter 5:7 “Casting all your care upon Him, because He cares about you.”

Do you know how hard it is to be invisible? Off everyone’s radar because they all think that I’m perfectly fine? I’m a straight-A student, the class vice president, and my parents aren’t divorced. I go to church and serve on a youth committee. So, what on earth could possibly be wrong in my life? Even I am ashamed of my “problems” because they are so small compared to what some other kids are going through. But they’re real to me.

I hate so many things about myself. I struggle to connect deeply with my friends, and I am so often alone. I am haunted by fears that keep me awake at night, and I wrestle with an anger so dark it would frighten anyone if I were ever to let it show. I know I need help. I drop hints like breadcrumbs that nobody follows. Sometimes I want to scream to my parents, my teachers, my youth leader, “Why can’t you see?” and “Are you even listening to me?” I have no idea where to turn.

Sometimes the people around us just don’t get it. Even if we can bring ourselves to share our deepest hearts with them, we are met with blank looks and empty words. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that because people don’t take an interest in us, God must not either. If our parents feel our problems are insignificant, why would the God of the universe be any different? So, we curl up inside ourselves and hide even from God.

But do you know something? God is just the opposite of what we might expect. Psalm 7 tells us that He “scrutinizes our thoughts and emotions.” He makes a careful study of us, and He knows us inside and out. Our thoughts matter to Him, and so do our feelings. In Psalm 119, David writes, “I told you about my life, and you listened to me.”

Try this tonight, when you tuck yourself into bed: Curl up with a pillow hugged tight to your chest, and whisper your story to God. Tell Him everything, like you would a best friend on a sleepover. And when you’re tempted to feel alone in the room, hear 1 Peter 5:7 whispering back. “Cast all your cares upon me, for I care about you!”

If you could use some help connecting with God in this way, follow GenReal on Facebook and Twitter as we prepare for our upcoming events in May and October, 2017. Visit the GenReal website to stay connected, and spread the word!

To all our dear followers, visit the new GenReal blog page at https://genreal.tumblr.com/!