ONE WORD Check-up #1

I was rereading the book Captivating this evening and picked up in the chapter I left off in a few weeks ago. The chapter was entitled “Beauty to Unveil.” It actually really hit home for me as it relates to my One Word 2011 challenge: vulnerability. The chapter discusses beauty as being the essence of a woman, but this beauty it mentions is not a physical beauty but that of an inner beauty. It’s a beauty that emanates from the inside out when a woman lets her defenses down, so that others may know her and cherish her. It’s a beauty that is confident with the woman God made her to be. It’s a beauty that rests in the fact that the woman trusts God and allows Him to have control of her life and bring her joy.

The authors Stasi and John Eldredge state, “A woman who is unveiling her beauty is inviting others to life. She risks being vulnerable: exposing her true heart and inviting others to share theirs.” It is something that is scary because every woman longs to be loved and accepted and is afraid of rejection. Women hide behind busy lives, controlling tendencies, and the need to be perfect because they are afraid that they won’t be accepted for who they really are.

I’ve been practicing letting down some of my walls and having more confidence in the person God made me to be, and I have to say that my heart feels more at rest right now. I have felt more peace, contentment and joy from the Lord lately. The last few months have been filled with tests and trials which have grown my patience, but I feel so in love with the Lord right now and at such a sense of peace because I trust Him. I also have been struck by a verse in James 1:2-4 that says “When trouble comes your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance (or patience) has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance (patience) is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” My patience is far from being fully developed, but these last few months have taught me to be more patient with the Lord and to share my heart more with others, bringing me much more contentment and one step closer to living out my One Word for 2011.