Five Freckles and a Dimple
Don’t you just love dimples?? And when you see a cute face with a sprinkle of freckles across the nose and cheeks…it makes you smile! Have you ever had something that you personally were not fond of but everyone who saw it thought it was the most amazing thing to ever have? We have all been there. But the difference is, when you personally have to deal with that ‘thing” it no longer becomes cool or cute. For instance, take having curly hair. All the straight-haired folk are praying for just one curl, while the ones with the curls do everything they can to have straight hair. It never fails. We always want what we can’t have, but we never realize what it took to get that one thing. This is very true when it comes to the calling on our lives. We see people who have a calling on their lives and an anointing that creates opportunity, room for their gifts and favor, and we sometimes find ourselves envious or even jealous of what they have been given.
The things we fail to see while recognizing the amazing traits a person may have are their “five freckles and a dimple.”
First, let me explain my fascination with freckles and dimples. I have grown up with a mother and a father who have dimples so deep that you could hide things inside of them due to how big they are. As far as freckles, I grew up with my grandfather, my aunts and other relatives who had freckles and I loved them! I remember wanting to have dimples and freckles because I thought they were AMAZING! It was only until I reached adulthood that I realized that A) I have both freckles and a dimple, and B) these were both considered an imperfection, a defect, if you will. A dimple is known as a small natural indentation in the flesh; a genetic default that is a divide in the muscle that is caused by a shortened facial muscle; a deformity. Freckles are skin cells that contain melanin that helps to protect the skin from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays by reflecting or absorbing them. Freckles are triggered by the exposure to sunlight. For freckled faces, sometimes they are frowned upon as imperfections, when in actuality they are a layer of protection that is only amplified by the very thing that is sent to be harmful. Dimples, a true defect, are seen as amazingly cute features, albeit absolute deformities. But we see them as character features, not flaws. We see them as special and unique because everyone doesn’t have them…the defects are made strong because of their rarity. I have found that as I age, I have inherited one dimple that I love so much. I have also inherited about five freckles that are as cute as buttons. I wouldn’t trade them for anything. That is all because I have learned to embrace the purpose of these two things that I have longed for and seen passed down through generations of both sides of my families.
So, get this. When we see those things in others that we long to have, we always must be mindful of the things they have had to go through to get them. We never know the cost of a calling, or the cost of an anointing on a person’s life. Spiritually, we don’t see the development of another person’s “freckles”; those spots placed on their lives as protection from harmful things. The “freckles” on their lives that are birthed due to situations and the need for protection either by reflecting or absorbing the rays of life’s trials. We sometimes forget about the very thing that was meant to be a defect in their life, a generational deformity. This is seen as a beautiful feature that they have turned around for their good. The thing that was meant to be less than “regular” was made into a beautiful rarity that others find desirable. We tend to overlook the cost of having our "five freckles and a dimple". We forget to see behind the surface and realize that these things take time to develop. These things take strength to carry, and sometimes the calling and the very features that make us beautifully different, begin in ways we would never imagine. God lets us know in Jeremiah 1: 5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. God knew what we were made to do. Regardless of our self-proclaimed flaws, we must remember that we all have the proverbial “five freckles and a dimple”. For everything that we may not like, there is a person who would do anything to have it. So embrace what you are given and make the best of it. No matter where in the process of life you receive your “mark,” love it. Take care of it and use it to the best of it’s potential. Your flaws may be your protection and your trademark. Use them to create your own legacy of beauty.
Where are the "five freckles and a dimple" in your life? Comment below to inspire someone else who may not be as brave. I am so excited to hear from you!
The Silent Exclamation
We learn what punctuation marks stand for in elementary school. So how is it possible, that as an adult, you learn that the mark that “makes the loudest sound” can actually be silent? How can the mark that is so expressive be the most unanimated??
In life, there are times that we have to make a stand and express our love for Christ, our life, and our family. We have to show everything that we are in such a way, that we drown out the things around us. Then there are times that we must be still. There are times that we must be silent. We have to be able to recognize the times that we hear God and know to be quiet. On the other hand, there are times that we have to let our lives and our faith we have scream louder than any word or gesture to who we say we are. All the world is so loud and all those around us have spoken before they have acted, sometimes we doubt the standard. We doubt that we have a place or community of believers that are doers, not just hearers of the word. At every turn, we notice there are fewer people who will stand by the word without compromising. Knowing that, we are naturally inclined to be louder, be stronger, push harder….not so.
Our faith is not predicated on the premise that we have to scream louder, press our beliefs or the promises of God on anyone to entice them to believe or to follow Him. Our faith is also not activated based on what people say or do. All we have to do is believe, trust in His word and know that the promises that He made to us will be fulfilled. When the world is going left and you know the path is right, you have to stand strong and remember, believe there is good while being the good in the world. Your testimony may help someone else. Trust the process and know that God isn’t finished.
In the word we are constantly reminded of how our belief is what gets us through the weight of the world. John 5:5 says, ‘Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the son of God.’ We are destined to overcome the world. Our belief and knowledge that Jesus Christ is our redeemer, the Son of the Most High God, enables us to overcome. In Revelation 12:11, John tells us, ‘And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto death.’
We are not to love our lives, the things of the world, and be so caught up trying to relate to others and be part of the crowd that we allow our testimony to be silenced. Our testimony, our lives, the very thing that has created and shaped our life, should not be muffled. Even when you can’t say a word, you have to be able to let your testimony scream loudly!
Your belief can be the silent exclamation that says, no matter what may come my way, I have a Savior who has promised me to prosper. I am a living testimony of the faithfulness of God. As believers, worshippers, wives, mothers, husbands, fathers, daughters, sisters, sons and brothers…we must know. We must keep and hide His word in our hearts.
But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. - Galatians 3:22 (NIV) As a daughter of the King, I try to keep Luke 1:45 in my mind at all times: Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises.
God is so good, and He is faithful. I choose to make a silent exclamation with my life to show that not only do my words speak of His goodness, but my life and my testimony will be the silent exclamation until the final period of my story has been placed. And after the language arts test of life is over, it can be said, that despite the body of text for my life, I was able to make a grammatical contradiction by proving... there can be a silent exclamation. Just remember, #Hesnotfinished.
Take a minute and share your encouraging thoughts on living
'The Silent Exclamation'.Your words can encourage the walk of someone else.
The Renewal of Everything
BEEP, BEEP, BEEP….eyes closed, mind numb…is that my alarm?? As you open your eyes and look at your phone, which now sits on your nightstand, (in front of your actual alarm clock) hit snooze even though you probably need to get up. So you do. You get up after the second annoying round of 'BEEPS' and it’s time to get the kids up and ready for school…and this is your life. THIS. IS. MY…..LIFE?? Hmmm…
As you walk through the halls of your home, you may stumble over a toy, or notice a few dishes that you weren’t able to clean the night before….Have you ever wondered…how did that happen? Or did you ever stop, look around at your life and say, 'What am I doing, what is my purpose?' You have rushed through the morning and never once took a breath or a moment for yourself and as much as you love your life, you still wonder…what am I doing for the Kingdom?
“The Kingdom…oh no! I didn’t pray this morning. I haven’t had my quiet time and I have to get ready for work!!” Instantly a feeling of guilt and ungratefulness immediately wash over you. With everything you have in your life, how can you not take time for the King?? How can you run through this amazing life and look back over all the things you have been given, the mercy that God has granted on you and your family and you not have at least 5 minutes to sit down and give thanks…?
These are the questions and daily routines that many of us go through day in and day out of our lives. We wonder how all these things happen and how we know we have a purpose and a plan for our lives, but sometimes we don’t feel worthy, qualified or equipped to fulfill the calling on our lives that we KNOW we have. Here is where we stop, take a deep breath and realize that Philippians 1:6 rings true.
“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: “ (KJV)
The very thing that was prophesied over your life as a child, teenager, even in the later phases of womanhood, will be completed in your life. God has promised us to fulfill and complete everything that He said He would do. We only need to look at the faithfulness of God. Look at everything that He has brought us through and the mercy on our lives and realize that He is for us. All we have to do is trust Him.
Look at Paul, the author of the book of the Philippians. Paul’s story is one we can look upon and recognize who God is. Paul, who was named Saul, once persecuted Christians. He was a Pharisee, and he knew the law. Paul, one who was against everything that Christ was about, was able to have an intimate encounter with Jesus that forever changed his life. After everything he had done to go against the very Savior who knew the potential of Saul in the Kingdom, despite his actions against Jesus, Saul received a word that he could not deny and took on his calling. He changed his name to Paul and pressed through to the mark. He received a renewal of life. He understood that God had a plan for his life and he was given grace and mercy.
So, if Paul can see that, surely we can!!! Say to yourself, “ I am the daughter of the King, and no matter what I go through, I will live my life to glorify Him!” He loves us and what we need to do is one simple thing, pray daily as the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 51:10
“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” (KJV)
You will make it. Renew your mind, your heart and your spirit. You will fulfill the purpose that you were called to fulfill and He will do just what He said He would do in your life…He’s not finished with you yet, so don’t quit!