Saturday, June 26, 2010

We Wanna Be Free to Be Loved.


If you haven't noticed, Summer is upon us. The air is filled with smells of sunscreen and coconut body splash and the sounds of flip flops and cars racing desperately to the coast.

Summer is my favorite season. Especially in Cali.

I have high school memories of going to the beach every day with friends and family. Laying out and catching rays was my activity of choice. [With sunscreen of course.] Occasionally my brother and I would take the boogie boards out and brave the great waves of Oceanside Harbor.

Summer time was also Camp time. For four years I went to my camp [high school] and was a counselor at a camp [middle school]. A whole week with friends, fun, crazy games, worship and a guest speaker that was usually hysterical.

But there was one part of Summer that I dreaded...

I don't know if you guys go through this with your Moms and Dads, but there was one argument e v e r y s i n g l e S u m m e r.

It was the bathing suit argument.

Anyone hear what I'm saying?


My dear mom would take me shopping and when I found one I thought was absolutely adorable I would hold it up and say, "Hey mom, how about this one?" She would reply, "Sure, if you're gonna stay inside all summer." Then the flip conversation, "Hey honey how about this one?" To which I would reply, "Um...are you kidding me?" And so the trip would go. You have no idea how ecstatic I was when they designed the Tankini.

However, now looking back, I am so grateful for the "strictness" of those days.

I know as Middle Schoolers and High Schoolers you are reading this thinking, "Yea right, she doesn't know what my parents are like. She's just saying that..." I was in your shoes not too long ago. I had the big silver braces with different color bands every month. I had the clothing fetish [and still have the clothing fetish]. I went to the mall to hang out with friends. I had crushes on boys that I knew I could never date. I had the crazy acne that I swore was going to plague me for the rest of my life. I dressed to impress my friends. I did it all girls. Well, all there was to do back in my days of teenage.

So I know the frustrations that you are feeling. I have felt the desires you are desiring. The fears you are fearing. The arguments you are having. Now I admit times have changed and I'm getting up there, but I think there under issue is the same.
We want to be free to be loved.

That is the base of everything we go through in our teenage years. We want people to love us, like us, admire us, desire us. And we don't want anyone to tell us how, when, why, or what to do.

But my dear girls, this standard will set you up for failure. Let me say it again: This standard will set you up for failure.

Esther was the most beautiful queen in all of Persia. The king chose her to be his wife out of all the girls in the whole region. She was bathed and oiled for 6 months and perfumed and pampered for the other 6. Twelve months of beauty beauty beauty! Can you imagine? Yet it says in Esther 2:15 that when the time came for her to present herself to the king, she took NOTHING except what he servant suggested to her...

She had EVERYTHING. But took NOTHING. No favorite necklace, dress, bathing suit, ring, makeup. Nothing.

Not that these things are bad, but Esther knew that if the king was going to adore her, it was going to be the will of God that had caused him to. Not her persuasive attire or fabulous makeup.

Do not set clothing, makeup, style, as the ruler of your life. Do not let yourself think that the more you show and the skinnier you, the more people will like you. I made the mistake. [I'll talk more about this next blog.] It does not work.

Who are you looking to validate who you are? What are you wearing just to impress?

...to be continued.


~JM
juliannahallworth.com

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