My mother read to me. I don't remember a time when stories didn't fill my mind and my heart. In many ways they shaped me - often for good and sometimes.... Sometimes the messages got a bit muddled in my child heart and left impressions that didn't serve me well.
For instance, the story of "The Little Engine That Could." Now there, one would think, is a positive message. That tiny little engine did what no one else thought possible and by sheer willpower pulled that train up and over the mountain to deliver the toys safely to the waiting children on the other side. Everyone loved and praised the little engine.
It certainly has it's merits, but when it becomes a driving force in your life - not so much.
I have always known God loves me. I have heard it in messages, read it in His Word, studied it in groups, sung it in songs. It's a truth stored safely in my head. Yet time and time again, I have realized it isn't a truth that has made its way down into my heart.
Somewhere between my head and my heart stands a little barrier of doubt. It reveals itself in phrases like: "I should have... I need to.... What is it I should be doing for You? I don't want to miss my calling." It's as though I have become that little engine, longing to do something big so I will earn that love and affirmation I long for. Not consciously, mind you, because I know God's love for me is unconditional. It's just that there are times I cannot seem to put aside that "do enough; good enough" tally sheet.
Please click over to Laced With Grace to read the rest of this little story. Meet you there!
Blessings,
Linda
