Hiding…..

In plain sight.
I now understand how you can lose time with no intention to do so. I intentionally watched one video and before I knew it, I had watched 5 more and 30 minutes of my life was missing. Luckily I have ADD when it comes to watching, well, anything. So the videos may last 8 minutes max….
The last one was a beauty tutorial that seem to be so popular these days. I will admit I was absolutely riveted. This perfectly cute young lady put on a crepe, pancake and Belgian waffle worth of makeup. Then she added fruit, butter, whipped cream and syrup in color. The result was nothing short of stunning. But…as beautiful as the result was, she no longer looked anything like herself. Surprisingly my first thought wasn’t “how to I replicate that”, it was “what are you hiding?”.
This week in my devotions was a spotlight on an issue I didn’t even know I had. Somewhere in my religious upbringing, I got the idea that I as a woman should never shine brighter than those around me, or that receiving compliments makes you prideful and pride is a sin. Or perhaps it was no matter how great you are, there is always someone greater. Did I mention I’m a very messy hodgepodge of stuff.
Part of me thinks it’s all that and a good dose of dysfunction in my household; because my sisters suffer from the same crazy. People sometimes see the 3 of us as a clique, we’re not. What we are is a surrounding safety net for each other and those we let in. You may see the shine, but you don’t know about the polishing processes.
This week I got a handful of scriptures to combat my “natural”/(nurtured) inclination not to be noticed:
Psalms 75:6-7; God gives promotion.
Matthew 5:15-16; Don’t hide your light under a bushel, but let your light so shine that men give glory to God.
There are others, but the essence is the same, you were not made to hide your gifts, talents or yourself. Don’t let other people’s insecurities, feelings of envy and just plain old hate stop you from giving God a good return on the talents He gave you (Matthew 15).
Thank You God