Brick Wall

Dear Brave Butterfly,

Fear.  It has a mind of it's own.  It can distance me from others.  It can take over my life - if I let it.  But truth conquers fear.

Brick Wall
I never intended to build it
It wasn't part of the master design
But slowly it appeared
And now I must claim it as mine

The bricks got laid slowly
Different ones through the years
Each brick designed to protect me
From all my different fears

Fear of rejection, fear of failure,
Fear of judgment, labels, or names
The bricks a self defense technique
To insulate me from pain

As the fears appeared through the years
The bricks stacked even higher
A solid wall built so high
That I am trapped inside

A prisoner inside my own jail cell
In solitary confinement I sit
As the wall grows taller
I begin to holler

Help me God to see the light
I don't want to live this way
But I don't know how to remove this wall
That stands prominently on display

"You must face your fears 
For your fears are lies in disguise
Replace your fears with my truths
And the bricks will fall to the side"

"Your fears of what this world thinks
Hold no power over you
You are my child who is forever loved
The world's view doesn't matter"

"You don't need to fear failure
For my love can not be earned
It is a free, unconditional gift
Provided by my son"

"As you let my love in
The wall will soon come down
For my perfect love conquers fears
And sends them tumbling to the ground"

Slow Down

Dear Brave Butterfly,

Reminder:

You can't be in the moment when you're racing through it.

Good Friday

Dear Brave Butterfly,

Hi friend!  Last year on Good Friday, my daughter Sydney asked me a simple yet profound question, "Mommy, why do they call it Good Friday if that's the day Jesus died on the cross for us?".

It is counter-intuitive that a day filled with so much pain and suffering would be called "Good".  But even Jesus sees it as good -- the best day in history.

Chosen One
How did it feel
To leave your royal throne
To come from perfection
To walk this earth alone?

How did it feel
To be born without a bed
A lowly manger
To rest your head?

How did it feel
To wait for the day
When one you discipled
Would be one who betrayed?

How did it feel
To know what was coming
The trial, the judgment
The abuse and the shunning?

How did it feel
To bear the weight of the world's sin
To be punished for nothing
So good could win?

How did it feel
To hang on the cross
Knowing at any moment
You could have come off?

How did it feel
To look into your mother's eyes
To see her pain
As she watched you die?

How did it feel
To be raised from the dead
Knowing death had been defeated
Through the blood you shed?

How did it feel 
To conquer the grave
To be back in heaven
To know you had saved?

The Simple Things

Dear Brave Butterfly,

It's so easy to breeze by the simple things in life.  Our health, the ability to walk, the laughter of a child can often be taken for granted until taken away.  Give thanks for your many blessings. 

What simple things are you thankful for?

Be Me

Dear Brave Butterfly,

Hi friend!  Some days I desperately want to extend my wings to fly, but I feel caged up.  The more I try to conform or mold myself into what I think I "should be", the more my wings are pinned down.  Instead I'm embracing something different... being me.

Who you are is no mistake.
You are one-of-a-kind.
Unique.
No other person ever has been you.
No other person ever will be you.
You were created with a specific purpose.
Designed to be just as you are -
Made to be YOU.
So repeat to yourself, "Be Me".
And always remember, "Being me sets me free".

Breaking the Cycle

Dear Brave Butterfly,

Hi!  Here's to breaking the cycle... 

Breaking the Cycle
As you drive up the freeway
You see all the shops
Each one calling
For you to stop

They all promise
To make you feel better
New cars, new clothes, 
purses and sweaters

They call you in
With their advertising campaigns
Beautiful women
Airbrushed with no shame

They convince you
"You too can be perfectly made"
If you would just buy
Lipstick in this perfect shade

So you try it out
And it works for a day
Until you see the next ad
And what it has to say

Another area of your life
Needs something else
To make you feel better
And okay with yourself

The cycle is endless 
As you buy and you pay
But deep down you know
"Things" won't make you feel okay

You can't buy happiness
It's a gift free to all
If you will just step back
And answer the call

Your worth comes from knowing
You are a special child of God
Loved and crafted
To be just who you are

Freedom

Dear Brave Butterfly,

Be free... 

Two simple words, yet often they feel so lofty.  Sometimes I feel chained down by the expectations of others.  The more I try to mold myself into someone else's view of who I should be, the more caged up I feel.  God gently reminds me freedom comes in a different way - it comes from being me.

It was no mistake.  I designed YOU to be YOU.  Stop trying to be anyone other than who I designed you to be.  Live in the freedom of being you!