Uniquely You

Growing up, being uniquely you was considered a bad thing.

I should know.

I was the shy home school kid (yes, I said SHY) with no friends and very little social interaction. I mostly read–a lot and practiced piano for hours a day.

That all changed when I entered college and finally found myself. I learned how to be comfortable in my own skin. Literally.

The reason WHY I write and am heavily involved ministry is because I lost the skin off my face and feet due to severe eczema when I was 15, and it took me over 6 years to recover.

Basically the years when a girl becomes a woman.

I never thought a man would ever love me.

I never thought I would have a normal life.

I never thought my skin would heal.

But God did all those things…because He loves me…and because I’m His daughter.

I am unique.

This past weekend, my parents threw my fiancé and I a wedding shower. It was an amazing time for Marc to meet my parents international friends including a few pastors.

One of them had a word for us.

Normally, when someone says that I get excited. Why? Because I’ve learned to test everything (1 Thessalonians 5:21, NLT).

But I always pray about it because I want to see if the Lord confirms it. That’s how prophecy works. The Holy Spirit is constantly at work and if our eyes are opened we shall see it (2 Kings 6:17).

So I share this word with you for a number of reasons.

First, it’s been a while since I’ve given any update about how I’m doing in this whole engagement process. It’s been a blur because we’re also moving Marc into a new house.

Second, I’ve been VERY emotional (as I should be and with good reason too). I didn’t want to share during this time purely for hype to get more blog hits. It’s easy to do this at times, and I wanted to wait it out.

Third, I wanted God to speak. Wait, shouldn’t that be first?

So the “word.” It came from 1 Samuel 2:30 that says, “…“I will honor those who honor me.” Then he said that Marc and I are “unique.” As in created for a eternal purpose, for each other, and because we honored the Lord and waited for one another.

I was reading Song of Solomon in my One Year Bible and came upon this verse and it HIT me…

“Sixty queens there may be,
and eighty concubines,
and virgins beyond number;
but my dove, my perfect one, is unique,
the only daughter of her mother,
the favorite of the one who bore her.
The young women saw her and called her blessed;
the queens and concubines praised her.” ~Song of Solomon 6:8-9, NIV

I am unique.

Instantly, I felt like cowering in fear. “Do not stare at me because I am dark” (Song of Solomon 1:6a, NIV). I hate what my health has done to my body. Sometimes I am so insecure about my weight and other emotional issues like fear that I feel unworthy of receiving love.

I have been processing through this the past week and asking God to help me overcome my fears. And He HAS. Today, I came across a post by Mary DeMuth called “Don’t Live Your Life in Fear.” She said something about being unique. AHH! I let my fingers run as fast as they could back to WordPress. I knew I had to write this NOW and not save it for Monday’s blog.

I wonder, Did you know you are unique? Like me, Have you ever felt ashamed or embarrassed about it? Today (or ever) is not the time because “the Lord honors those who honor him…”

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:10, NIV).