READ ALONG WITH MISSY!

“JUST BE WHAT YOU ARE”

by Missy Gordon

Just be what you are.  It’s better this way.

Don’t live for the future, only live for today

Do what you know, act how you act
Give what you can give, that’s all that He asks 

It seems we’ve been taught to give more than we have

We think it gives us power, but all it does is make us sad 

Life is not about striving to cut to the bone,

it’s about learning to share what you already know

I find that one of the main things God says to me is this: “Missy, stop trying to do more, and just live in today”.  He is very kind, and chooses to forget that He has already said it 1,000 times before.  This is my usual response: “but Lord, how am I ever going to do anything important if I just accept myself as I am right now?  I just don’t feel like I’m doing enough!  I want to be so much more than I am.”  After I express this, it’s as if He’s just sitting there looking at me with those quiet eyes, still waiting for me to catch up to what He said before.

We don’t allow ourselves to even look at our own lives long enough to evaluate where we’re at, let alone accept where we are because it’s uncomfortable, it’s scary.  What if we don’t like what we see?  Even as I’m writing this, I feel those things. But why?  Because even though we believe in the grace of God, there is still a place in the heart that holds onto the idea that we’ll never truly measure up to God’s standard.  We think, “at least if God sees me sweating drops of blood, giving it my all, He’ll look at me and think, “well at least they’re trying!  I’m proud of them for that!”

This is a very low expectation of ourselves.  This is no way to please God.  God is looking for real fruit, not your striving.  The only fruit this kind of false humility produces is self and a bitter heart.  How can you love anyone else if you look down on your own self?

Picture a sickly feeble person – hunched over, skinny arms and legs, head down, sad eyes.  This tired old soul is reaching out to every passer by, in desperation, saying “I give you all that I have!”, but there is nothing to give!  We think that hating ourselves in an attempt to love people more is what God wants.  That doesn’t even make sense!

Jesus told us that to even enter the Kingdom, let alone reign in it, we must be like little children.  Kids don’t care what they look like, they do what comes naturally to them and they’re always looking to learn, asking questions about everything they see.  They’re humble not because they try to be, but because they want to be, because learning is fun, and life is wonderful!  They love to see new things and meet new people, they like to tell stories and pick flowers for their mom.  Kids don’t care how they appear, they wear two different shoes and they smile all the time.  They love people without even trying, it’s just who they are.  The Father loves kids, and they love Him.  It’s only when we grow up, that we miss the message.

Stay little,

Missy Gordon, Gordon Ministries