They went on to say: "Is there such a thing as too much cilantro?" I murmured an assent, and was left to my own thoughts. While I twirled a fork through a lemon (I learned today that that gets the juice out full and fast) I had an "Annie, what are you thinking?!" moment.
I don't like cilantro.
There can DEFINITELY be too much cilantro.
Now I have to put cilantro in my guacamole.
I am just not a fan of conflict. I suppose it could be a symptom of various things (fear alert!), and it can result in any number of situations. Apparently, one of those situations is guacamole not quite the way you like it.
This avoidance of conflict, it comes out of fear. Fear of disappointing the people I'm around, fear that they won't like what they find. What they find...that nebulous thing that I am afraid will disappoint them, I've come to realize, is me.
After the cilantro incident, I ducked downstairs to take a nap. It's never easy for me to fall asleep in the middle of the day, and this afternoon was no exception. I laid there, with Kim Walker bursting in my ears: "He loves us, Oh how He loves us..." In my mind's eye, a picture popped into view.
I saw myself, standing dressed in a beautiful gown, picked out just for me by the Lord. It fit perfectly, it fell gracefully, and it was the best kind of beautiful, that which is natural. The scene unfolded as I imagined people approaching, taking ownership of the masterpiece I wore, and making parts of it theirs. A gray flower pinned here, a purple patch stuck there, and so on and so forth. Soon, the dress the Lord had designed for me was covered with patches of other people's ideas of what would look good.
I thought about being myself, and how easy it is to let what I expect others want of me to become who I pretend to be. I know a lot of people, and they know me. But they don't know deep, deep down. They don't know all of me like He does. But I know my own tendency is to work to fit to be who other people expect that I am. When you actually try to explain it, it's a bit of a mind bender.
I want to be who He made me to be, rather than tweaking parts of me here and glances of me there. When I am the way He created me, I become an expression of Him. I'm created in His image. One of my favorite parts of who I am, if you're allowed to have those, is that parts of my personality reflect parts of His. Simple things, like I'm learning that it's okay to love adventure - because Jesus is adventurous, and He made me that way.
So away with this fear. That nasty, sneaky lie that says what He created doesn't fit the mold. It tells me I need to adjust myself to fit other people's expectations. The truth it that they have a slightly skewed view of who I am simply because they don't have the time or the scope of vision to know me fully, to know me the way He does. Rather than accept the patches other people project on me, I want to wear the dress Jesus gave me. It will draw others into being who He made them to be, it will point others to who He is. I don't have to be afraid it's not good enough, and I can be me even if other people don't expect it.
Let me say, I feel like I have written the word "I" in this post a whole lot. This isn't to say that I'm a big deal; I just believe the Lord made each one of for a reason...you are not a mistake. You have a design, and He pieced you together deliberately and specifically. Ask Him how He made you, and live that way, because it reflects something about Him.
And, I'll take my guacamole without cilantro, but you can put some in yours if you want.
"O Lord, you have searched me
and you know me."
~Psalm 139:1
No comments:
Post a Comment