The Ultimate Four Letter Word

Just.

I am just a housewife.

I am just a mom.

I just have three kids.

I just write for fun.

I have just a handful of regular readers.

I just read stories to kids.

I just encourage a few people.

Just.

Justification for who I am, but this justification is the act of excusing who I am, what I do.  This word, this justification belittles me.  It causes me to stumble and capitalizes on my inadequacies and my feeling of insignificance.  It makes small and unworthy those I serve, those I love - my husband, my children, my friends, my neighbors, all the many people I love in my life.  Do they deserve that?  Do I?

Have I forgotten?

I HAVE ALREADY BEEN JUSTIFIED.

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through  our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.  And we boast in the hope of the glory of God."
                                                             -  Romans 5:1-2

What if I made every act an act of worship instead of being weighed down by my unworthiness and insignificance?

What if I stand in this grace, what if I stood in awe of this grace that was given so freely and in doing so gave freely of myself?

What if in recognizing the one who died for me I died to my own self and my feelings of inadequacy?

How could I change the space where I stand for the glory of God if I stopped my own form of justification and fully believed that One came before, long before and proclaimed me worthy of such a love as His and I have no need to prove myself worthy, nothing I do can change this love He has for me?

There is no Just.

There is PEACE.

There is GRACE.

There is HOPE.

There is GLORY.


**This blog post is the beginning of a 31 Days challenge.  It's where bloggers are challenged to write about something for the 31 days of October.  My challenge to myself?  Admitting that I love this space, truly love this space and how God speaks to me through my writing.  So I am going to write for 31 days straight, making it a priority and a thing of importance in my life.  So often I write a blog post not knowing where it is going to go or what I am going to say but God speaks to my heart through my words and points me to His word.  I am not sure what all the posts will look like.  Maybe some will just be pictures, maybe some funny stories and  others a bit more but I want to make the time and carve out the space, the chance for God to speak.  Join me?