BECOME MORE FULLY YOU

Sometimes it feels hard to be who we really are, right?

Sometimes we feel like who we really are doesn’t quite meet a certain standard, so we expend energy trying to be better, push harder, or be a better version of ourselves.

Sometimes we work so hard to be a better version of ourselves, that we lose the simplicity, joy, and freedom of just being ourselves.

One thing I love about being married to the man who I began dating as a high school junior, is that I don’t have to try to be a better version of myself. In fact, he sees me at my absolute worst. He hears me say things that are just plain wonky. He gives me grace when I plummet into a bad mood over silly things, and he loves me when I’m sporting my favorite big, blue sweatshirt, hair in a bun on top of my head, and makeup washed off after a full day. He loves me being me. And I’m most at home being me with him.

Today, I want to encourage you that there is One that loves you being you. There is One who delights in you being you. There is One who doesn’t need you to perform, to better yourself, or to strive harder. He wants you to rest in the simplicity, joy, and freedom of just being yourself.

We become most fully ourselves when we live/dance for an audience of this One and only God that you and I have been talking about for quite some time now. When we live for Him, for His eyes, for His glory, for His name, we get to lean back into the freedom of being ourselves.

It’s actually quite exhausting trying to mimic others or trying to better ourselves. But when our aim is to mimic Christ, our hearts wind up full, overflowing, and rich in simple joys. When He’s our aim and our focus, we don’t have to analyze how we are measuring up or how we are living out our dance…the unique life and gifts God has given us. No, we just dance it.

We just dance it.

Brian often catches me dancing in the kitchen, up the stairs, or for some reason, I can hardly walk from our foyer to the study without a pique arabesque. :) It’s just me being me. Big, blue sweatshirt and all. Dancing busts out when I’m being me…and he loves me still.

You being you blesses God’s heart.

You being you is you dancing your dance, doing your thing, being the gal God created you to be like no one is watching but Him.

You being you is you being comfortable in your own skin because in the depths of your heart you truly believe that God meticulously formed that very beautiful skin of yours.

You being you is you living and dancing so free because you know that you are so free in Christ.

You being you makes God’s heart dance.

You being you is you living from a place of rest because your heart is growing more in love with Jesus, and He’s showing you that He’s got you in all aspects of your life.

You being you is life in the Spirit. Life with God in control. Life with eyes for God. Life with a heart for God.

And what comes out is dancing from the soul. An inner joy that can’t help but bubble up.

True joy and being who we truly are comes from being perfectly comfortable with knowing we are imperfect and yet perfectly loved. We are shown perfect grace no matter how we feel, how we look, or how we act.

Is it okay to want to be a better version of ourselves? I would say, of course! When our hearts are locked into God’s heart, the result is transformation. As we lock hearts with God and His Spirit, He brings us more fully into Who He is helping us to become. But here’s the thing, we can be perfectly at ease right in the middle of the process. We will always be in the process of becoming more like Him, and we don’t have to manufacture transformation. Becoming more like Him, becoming the woman God created you to be, happens naturally as we seek Him.

So today, be you.

Seek Him.

By seeking Him, you become more fully you.