Feeling Comfortable in Your Skin

A new year, new thoughts, new ambitions. Since my tweener years the message of being comfortable in my own skin has been prominent. I remember once thinking that there was no way that I would ever feel uncomfortable being me. But as I grew older I realized that that can present itself it different ways. I had myself convinced that I am confident in who I was because I never lied about who I was, I just was myself. Problem is I rarely put myself in a situation where I meet people that don't already know the real me. I am sad to say that I often let the fact of my being uncomfortable or shy or reserved (whatever you want to call it), I let that stop me from joining in on activities or doing things that I actually thought sounded fun. I try to convince myself that the reason I don't end up doing these things is because I don't feel good or I just don't want to do them. When the truth is, if I'm not feeling good it's probably because my spastic nerves made me nauseated. And I probably DO WANT to do it, I just am afraid to actually put myself out there.
So why so uncomfortable? I think I've known a long time WHY I feel that way, but I just wanted to deny it because, hey, I was comfortable in my skin.
The reason for the uncomfortable-ness is....I care much too much about what other people think of me. My mind is always thinking "Oh well what would that person think if I did that" and "how is that going to look to other people". What I can't quite understand is WHY am I so worried about it? Am I really THAT full of myself. Ummm. Yeah! Duh! I'm a sinful human being, it's hard to grasp the enormity of God, so I focus on what I can grasp, this world and humanity...well not that I understand all humans but you get my point! So!! In light of this revelation, I've decided perhaps it's time to be a grown up. It's my choice whether or not I focus on God's opinion, and His is really the only approval I should be seeking. So leaning not on my own understanding but on my glorious magnificent creator, I'm determined to draw closer to him, live for him alone, and learn not to depend on the opinions of other sinful humans to make me feel important. And my first giant step in that direction is being actively involved in standing for His Glory and Righteousness on the subject of the fight against abortion.
Abortion is something I am very passionate about. And I've let my worries about people's opinions stop me from fully standing up against it. In my mind, abortion is an atrocity very much equal to Hitler's Holocaust. It's disgusting and despicable to me that we value human life so little that we go so far as to say that a child in the the womb is not actually a full human child yet. I do not understand how anyone can have this thought and take it seriously. I understand that they are sometimes trying circumstances in which these babies come into the world, but just because a woman is inconvenienced is no argument for ending a human life. 40 Days for life is an organization that my mother came across last year. Last fall my mother, my sister and I all got involved. This is their mission statement:

40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life campaign with a vision to access God’s power through prayer, fasting, and peaceful vigil to end abortion in America.

The mission of the campaign is to bring together the body of Christ in a spirit of unity during a focused 40 day campaign of prayer, fasting, and peaceful activism, with the purpose of repentance, to seek God’s favor to turn hearts and minds from a culture of death to a culture of life, thus bringing an end to abortion in America.
(Copyright © 2009 40 Days for Life)

I like that this is a peaceful organization that is focused on prayer to our creator about this issue. I feel one of the greatest things this nation can do against abortion is pray to God for forgiveness for this sin that is so often committed in America. God is in control, he has authority over what's going to happen. In this campaign, the boulder branch of it, which is what we are involved in, stands outside an abortion clinic in Boulder (our hope is 24 hours a day) in constant prayer. I think a lot of people have forgotten the great power and importance of our personal prayer to God, and I'm very proud to be involved in a group so devoted to speaking to God about this very important issue. I would ask that you be in prayer for this organization and everyone involved. That the glory of God be represented by those involved. And if it's not too much to ask, I'd really love you to pray for me also, that I can depend on God's strength and the Holy Spirit that is always with me to stand unashamedly for His glory. That I remember God's will and opinion is all I should care about.
This is an awesome video, and I love the way this girl puts everything. If only more people would share this 12-year-old's passion.



"Even though you can't see them or hear them at all, a person's a person, no matter how small."
Love that quote. And as many of you know, we have more evidence of life than Horton the elephant did. We have technology that enables us not only to see a 3D image of the baby in the womb, but also gives us a chance to hear it's beating heart.