It’s
a something you already know. You’ve heard it before, probably a thousand
times, and have even told yourself this very thing – and yet it bears
repeating:
You’re
being lied to. You have been lied to,
are being lied to, will be lied to again.
There’s
a little voice that nuzzles into your ear and whispers lies right into your
heart, into your spirit. It tells you you’re a bad mother because you lost your
patience this morning. It says your thighs are too big and your nose is all
wrong. It hints to you that you’re not a real runner, so why bother tying up
your shoes today? It reminds you that your sister is the creative one – you’re
the studious one. It tries to convince you that you’re messed up and unlovable
and God couldn’t possible forgive you.
Lies
– even the ones based on truth. Those are the best ones, because we hear the
sliver of what is true, buried deep under all the falsehood, and buy the whole
package.
Yes,
quite likely you lost your temper, and are not always patient. It’s quite
likely your thighs are bigger than those of the girl in the magazine, and it’s
possible your nose is a little wonky. It’s a fact that not all of us are built
to be runners, and it could quite possibly be true that you were/are
studious. There’s no doubt that you have
messed up – at some point or other in your life – and that you feel unlovable.
You
and me, we’re not perfect. I don’t know
what a man’s experience is like, but I do know that women struggle with the
concept of perfection, and some of us struggle with it a lot. We expect a lot
of ourselves, and that is compounded by the messages that pummel us through the
media, by how we compare ourselves to friends and neighbours, and by the nasty,
insidious lies whispered to us by the Prince of Lies himself.
If
we can be made to spend more time thinking about our thighs than being free and
fulfilled, or if we start believing that we are too far gone for mercy, then we’ve
been distracted from our purpose. Insecurity steals our sense of who we are as children
of God and we drift away from the full life we were meant to live while our
gifts and talents lie fallow. Eventually - as must always happen because none
of us lives in isolation – our families and communities are affected.
It
can be so very hard to tune out the noise that comes at us from ‘out there’.
But the messages we need to turn to again and again come from the scriptures,
from the lives of the saints, and from insightful contemporary Catholic writers
– especially those who address issues concerning women - like Alice von
Hildebrand, Teresa Tomeo, and Emily Stimpson. We need to hear the truth
repeated again and again so it sinks in deep and firm: we are loved. We are worthy.
We can turn to God for forgiveness and mercy.
We
are more than our thighs and our nose and our inability to make cupcakes. We
are held in the palm of the hand of God. He courts us, desires us, knocks at
the door of our heart… and all this while knowing all about the imperfections
and shortcomings.
Don’t
wait to be perfect. Don’t listen to the lies. Be free.
Wow. Just: wow. Thank you for the truth.
ReplyDeleteAmen!! My goodness I needed to be reminded of this.
ReplyDeleteThank you. You're welcome! A wise priest reminded me of this during Confession.
ReplyDeleteThank God for wise priests!
How does it feel having God as your co-writer Tess? Well done.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Bobby.
ReplyDeleteIt's exhilarating... when I cooperate!