Several years ago, I was speaking at a women’s retreat in the beautiful woody pines of East Texas. The theme for the retreat was His Image or My Image and focused on the concept that what a person thinks in his or her heart is in reality what they will become. The passage was taken from Proverbs 23:7.I used an illustration from my own childhood. When I was a young girl I was convinced that I had ugly feet. As a result of my belief, I never wore sandals in the summertime – even in adulthood! I’m not exactly sure why I thought that.
I have a vague memory of family members teasing me about my feet and because of that the belief was ingrained in me.
One summer, years after I became an adult and had two daughters of my own, I took my girls shopping for sandals to wear on the beautiful Southern California beaches where we lived. As we worked our way past the adult shoes to the back of the store where the children’s shoes were located, I noticed a rack of women’s sandals. One pair particularly caught my eye. I took the sandal from the shelf and slipped it onto my foot. Then I checked out the way it looked on one of those triangular mirrors that sits on the floor – you know the ones.
Suddenly, from behind me, I heard the voice of a store clerk say, “My, you have beautiful feet. Have you ever considered modeling sandals?” My first thought was, “This guy is nuts!” I graciously thanked him for the compliment but assured him that I didn’t do sandals – I was there to buy only for my children.
After we made our purchases and were driving home, it hit me like a lightning bolt. This man just told me I had beautiful feet. Now don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t basking in flattery. What happened was a reality check that went something like this: “I know my feet aren’t model material, but they can’t be as ugly as I’ve believed all these years! Something is wrong with this picture!?”
At that moment, I realized that I had bought into a lie that had deprived me of enjoying cool (I’m speaking of temperature as well as style) sandals in the summertime. I can’t remember exactly when I made the plunge, but eventually I bought myself a pair of sandals and have enjoyed them ever since.
I realize that this is a lighthearted illustration, but don’t you wonder how many lies we buy into because of things that have been said in passing? Maybe the people didn’t mean to be hurtful or maybe it wasn’t even true. But, we take it to heart. Maybe you wear glasses and someone called you “four-eyes.” I once ministered to a young woman that was deeply wounded from her youth because of children teasing her about her glasses. She was one of the most attractive women I’ve ever met, but you could have never convinced her of that – that is until Jesus revealed truth to her and healed her heart.
A couple of weeks after speaking at the women’s retreat and sharing this story, I decided to complete the exercise that I’d given the women to do. Their assignment was to ask the Lord how He sees them. My prayer that morning was: “Lord, show me how You see me.” I heard in my spirit, Song of Solomon 7:1. I turned to the passage – you have probably guessed it! It read, “How beautiful are your feet in sandals.”
At first, I was shocked. Then I laughed! And then, I cried. It was so intimate. God knew everything about me – including those places I’d been hurt! I thought to myself, ‘He longs for this kind of intimacy with me. Why don’t I give Him more opportunity!?’ One word from my Heavenly Father changed everything. He healed my heart and encouraged my soul.
He longs for that kind of intimacy with you too. Is there a lie that you’ve believed? Something so ingrained in how you perceive yourself that it’s hard to break? He can help you do that, whether it’s about your feet or your calling. His words change everything.
Now, If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go and spend some time with Him!