Pretty Packages

Have you ever received a gift that was extravagantly wrapped?


Elegant.
Perfect bow.


And it made your heart skip a beat with anticipation as to what could possibly be inside such a gorgeously wrapped gift?


Then... You open it...


Total disappointment.


Come on... You know what I'm talking about... We've all gotten "those gifts" that are maybe less than stellar & their packaging is deceiving... Leading us to believe there truly is something wonderful inside...




{Enter You. Enter Me}


And that's us sometimes. Isn't it? You. Me.


We think we've fooled the eye of the beholder.
All glammed up on the outside.
A royal mess on the inside.
Afraid to be transparent & allow the inner workings of our lives to be exposed.
For fear of judgment, maybe.
For fear of rejection, perhaps.
For fear of pride being bruised, possibly.


Sundays can be the worst. Can't they?


All morning long is a battle within...And perhaps without... You struggle to even make it out the door & get there on time... But, no fear, you've got your "Sunday best" on & even glossed your lips...Ready to walk in with a smile, say your "God bless you's", hear the message, make some small talk... & be on your way...


Pretty package on  the outside.
Royal mess on the inside.


What's so wrong with being vulnerable in church of all places? And letting our guards down? And just... being...


Being who we are.
Unashamed.
Unafraid.


Judging less.
Loving more.


I'm grateful...That my Father is the best at taking messy, broken lives... And making them whole again.


He's done it for me. Over & over again.


That wholeness... That healing... That restoration... That comes through intimacy & rightness with the Father...


That is what ultimately takes what is seemingly "less than stellar on the inside" & makes it extravagant. Beauty radiating from the inside out.


Pretty Packages.
Being made over.
It's what's on the inside that matters most.