Day 5: Accepting Affirmation

So, today I was uber (yeah, I just said uber) excited to blog about what I learned in bible study. I was going to write the outline that was given to me about the gospel as it is spoken by Peter in Acts 2 and la dee da dee da.

And then, BOOM!

Plans change.

God speaks.

And that, my friends, is why we schedule in pencil and not pen.

Today was a day of “rest” for me which, if you're American, means doing everything that you can't do on a day when you are working your actual job. I ran errands, cleaned my room, and did some laundry. Then, out of the blue, I received a text message from a friend. This is what it said:

“Hey, I've been blessed by your blog a few times already and it's only day four. You're a beautiful woman of God, and He's going to use you, if you let him. You, my friend, truly are a beauty from ashes. The good news is, those are his favorite kind.”

I was completely caught off guard by this text, and usually I would feel uncomfortable. I am one of those people that hates receiving any semblance of praise, and usually I am better motivated by demotivation (think of a hard nosed coach to an athlete). But, I immediately responded in gratitude and thanks, because I remembered something that I learned in Haiti.

Affirmation.

I had never experienced anything like the affirmations that we gave in Haiti. It was unnerving at first to have someone compliment me, but then it became comforting to know that we were not merely giving each other praise, but we were giving praise to the presence of God that we saw in one another.

So, my thoughts for today's blog rest in the idea that God is teaching me how to be comfortable with people acknowledging how they see Him in me.

Often times it's easy to get caught up in the mentality that our righteousness is nothing but filthy rags (as my roommate's mother used to put it), but we need to remember that a brother or sister in Christ's affirmation gives truth to the fact that the only good thing in us is God.

Treasure His goodness in you, and let your light shine.

In Christ,

Lilia