The Me I Want to Be

This summer, our company went on a boat trip and there was a caricaturist present for some entertainment. Each of my fellow employees sat down for their personalized bobble head drawing and laughter ensued as we looked at the dramatized features. Finally, it was my turn and I told the artist, "make me into the woman I want to be." We all laughed as I ticked off the short list in a humorous pitch and the other women followed suit with their requests for their drawings too.

My small group is about to start a new study and the title of the book is, The Me I Want to Be >> Becoming God's Best Version of You. As I looked at this title, I immediately thought of my witty comment to the caricaturist. The reality is that I can very quickly tell you what is wrong aesthetically that I want him to draw differently, but, in the grand scheme of things, I should be way more invested in my heart and the woman God is creating me to be. Aesthetically, God already considers me perfect, His masterpiece. So as I channel my inner woman and rip apart my faults, I not only choose to criticize God's handiwork, I also stray further from becoming more like Him and closer to the matters of this world.

I turn 31 this weekend, and as I look at my 21 year old self, I am reminded not only of the many blessings in the journey thus far, but also of how much God has pursued my heart. My heart - not the perfect outfit, what I can do for Him, my status in my career, my home, my car or my wardrobe. And while I do believe God cares about the small things - his pursuit of my heart is not based on the perfect mascara to make my eyelashes longer. I am excited about diving into this study, but also thankful for the reminder. He requires that I bring my heart to the cross, He is not necessarily concerned with the outfit I wear for the journey.

On a side note, the caricaturist's version of the woman I want to be is Debbie does Dallas. Apparently, he did not understand my instructions.