In Security

I lay on my bed and watched Hillary getting ready for the basketball homecoming festivities. She talked to me about her day as she shaved her legs, then did her make-up. Then she asked me to trim her bangs and fix her hair. Why she trusts me with this endeavor I'll never know...but I did my best and the result was ok. She slipped into a dress she wore two years ago, then said (with not a hint of panic), "Hmmm. I don't think I have any shoes." I frantically started texting friends and soon came up with a silver pair she could borrow. She gave herself one last glance and happily started out the door...alone...as her current boyfriend lives in another town and couldn't be here for the dance. I stood in the wake of her perfume, amazed at the security she seemed to have in herself. I couldn't help but be transported to my own high school days where every homecoming required weeks of planning, shopping for the right dress, tanning, and much blow-drying/curling/spraying the night of. Not to mention obsessing over who was taking whom to the dance.

An hour later, I stood in my own closet, among several tried-and-discarded outfits, frustrated because I couldn't seem to find just the right ensemble. And all I was doing was going to the ball game! It had taken Hillary 30 min to get ready to party all night...and here I was spending an hour (and considerable mental energy) just getting dressed to be at the game for the 20 min it would take to crown the homecoming court. Where ever Hillary's security comes from...it's not from her mother!

Perhaps I'm newly aware of this because I'm reading a book about women and their insecurity. Ok...I was reading it...I actually stopped half-way through because I was feeling insecure!

The point of the book is that our identity should come from who we are in Christ. We will never measure up to the world's ridiculous standards of beauty or success. And I know this in my head...but I'm still trying to convince my heart.

In the meantime, I'm learning from my graceful, beautiful girl who has nothing to prove and seems to know she is loved beyond measure...and beyond judgement.

And I pray that God will keep this gift in her safe.

And secure.