Beauty Escaped

"I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness." Jeremiah 31:3
This is such a pretty, quotable scripture.  It’s the kind you want to get a tattoo of or put on your wall or use as song lyrics.
Can we look into the depth of it? The word “drawn” here is the Hebrew word “Masak”, which actually means “to draw out”.  Have you ever asked, where is he drawing me out from?
This is the core of what we believe: that when Jesus said, “It is finished,” He meant it. I have no reason to cover myself up, or to hide away in shame. I am a child of God. In God’s eyes I am flawless; because He sees the finished product that I’m becoming even though I’m not there yet. He loves me fully and without any hesitation. Deep down I know these things. But in my changing state I’m still afraid sometimes. I forget. Fear has me crawling back into my cell afraid of the King, as if He would cast me out of the garden.
His love amazes me.  Here’s why.
God’s kindness dra…

We were in the middle of a two hour drive home.  My seven year old daughter, Addie, was sitting in the back seat talking with her brother about who knows what, laughing, giggling, singing.  Occasionally someone would say, "MOM. Tell him to stop annoying me."  "MOMMM. Tell her to stop singing!"

After awhile, the back seat had grown quiet.  I thought maybe they had fallen asleep, or were listening to the radio.

But then I heard a tiny little voice say, "mommy?"
I turned around.  Addie was looking at me with very sad, slightly worried eyes that were starting to well up with tears.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
She waited for a few seconds, and then she whispered, "do I look like a boy?"
She kept her eyes down on her folded hands.
What do I say? There isn't anything wrong with boys, of course.  Or looking like one.  But what she was really asking me here was, "am I pretty?"  I looked at her, a little caught off guard, becaus…