Would you just look at that giant fat face? School pictures were not a favorite thing of mine. I dreaded that day and it seems I was never disappointed with the “face” that would stare back at me. It was like the photographer knew just when to click the camera that would capture the worst image. Sometimes I wondered who that person was in the photo, because it sure didn’t look like the girl I saw staring back at me from the mirror.
My mother never liked having her picture taken. Growing up and even now she does not want her picture taken for various reasons. I wonder when it was that I picked up that same fetish…..”oh, don’t take my picture, I can’t stand to have my picture taken.” There are a number of pictures out there with my hands in front of my face. I hate the way I look and I can pick myself apart and tell you all the flaws better than a magnifying glass.
The other day a friend of mine said that she and her family were waiting to have a family portrait taken until her and her husband lost all the weight they were trying to shed. I didn’t think too much about it until I got home. A very sober thought hit me and I remembered a couple of verses pertaining about tomorrow. James 4:13-16 (NIV) reads:
“Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.”
And then there’s Matthew 6:34 (NIV), which states:
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
While the Bible never says the exact phrase, tomorrow is not promised, it’s pretty much understood that at any given time, we can be called by our Heavenly Father to go home. In fact I had it put very abruptly to me once by my English teacher in the ninth grade, “your main purpose in life is to die.” Say what?!! That was a reality I wasn’t ready to hear, but there it was and I chose to put that statement in the recesses of my brain. But, I’ve never been able to totally forget it and I wonder how many memories I stopped or missed out on because I wouldn’t allow my picture to be taken.
As I sat here thinking about missed opportunities an older school picture of mine popped up in my head. Blech!! Of all the pictures to pop in my head, why that one?! Oh, that’s why. Okay, okay, I asked earlier and “You’re” showing me. I hemmed and hawed and I cringed and thought, “I’m going to have to go through soooo many pictures to find that one.” So I chose to not bother in the search because I already knew what it looked liked….it was etched in my brain. Instead, I went about my day and eventually went to bed.
“Don’t put off until tomorrow, what you can to do today.” That’s exactly what I did and now it’s still “nagging at me this morning. Why do I wait when I know what I’m called to do? I opened the lid to the mass of pictures not in any kind of real order, some in boxes, some in bags, some in albums and I reached down to one of the boxes and there on the very top was the very picture I hated from school.
I plucked it up and stared at the picture, started to pick apart all that was wrong with it and then my heart softened as I heard God say, “why are you condemning my creation? That is my daughter whom I love very much.” I started to cry and realized how hard I’ve been on myself for far too many years. I allowed my own words to beat myself up over and over again. So I looked at the picture with fresh eyes and I hugged the picture to my chest and apologized to her; to me.
Somewhere along the line, I let this particular picture define how I would always look in pictures. I tell myself now; it’s just a picture, a moment in time captured to reflect a day God allowed me to live. It’s a memory to be cherished, to laugh or maybe even shed a few tears over. Is it my best picture? Ohhhhh noooooo!! Does it define who I am? Not by a long shot. But it defined me, for far too long.
But this day….today…..I am here, I am loved, I am thankful, and tomorrow is not promised. If we’re constantly waiting for the perfect opportunity, the perfect weather, or for physical perfection, then I dare say we’re wasting away before our own eyes and missing out on far too much this life has to offer.
We only get this life; we choose how we spend it. We can believe in the lies of the enemy or we can stand firm on the Rock and know no matter how our “picture” looks, we are a beautiful creation, handpicked and knitted in our mother’s womb. We’re not some turkey carcass that gets picked apart for good meat, soup parts or trash, we’re human beings created in God’s image. God doesn’t pick us apart, He sets us apart. If we’re too busy beating ourselves up, how can we be the light that needs to shine for others to see? Ouch!! Message received.
Thank you Lord for showing me who I am in you! This coming weekend I will be in our town’s annual Christmas parade as one of the most popular characters. I didn’t know Mickey Mouse was one of the most popular characters at the time I said I would do it. Immediately thoughts came into my head….will people take my picture? I hate having my picture taken. People will make fun of me. Maybe someone else should do this….someone skinnier, someone….STOP. Are those the things God would say? Not at all. He would tell me I am well equipped and more than a conqueror and perfectly able. So bring on the picture taking as I let my light shine for all to see!!
Do you know who you are in Christ? Do you know the power you posses when you realize not who you are, but WHOSE you are? Come to Jesus, accept Him as your Lord and Savior and begin to know what you were made for.
Blessed to be Broken 