The Me I Wanted To Be by Christine Wright {Comparison Series}

My guest today in our "Comparing Ourselves to Others...and what it does to us" series is Christine Wright. Christine and I "met" last year on Holley Gerth's God-sized Dream Team and let me tell you, she is one inspiring woman. She lives her favorite Scripture verse Joel 2:25, "I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten..." and shines as an example and a reminder that God does indeed have plans for us - for today and for the future. Please join me in welcoming Christine here today, and be sure to visit her at Living Joel 2:25. ~ Laura

I saw her again yesterday. The mom I've known for over a decade now. Actually, I don't know her...I just know of her. We smile and nod, having seen each other in various settings for years, but never meeting, much beyond a short hello.

I do know a few things though.

She's good. As in really good. At life. At mothering. At just being her.

She's delightful. Absolutely delightful.

Three kids - who behave because they want to (who does that??), an uncomplicated marriage, and a sense of style that just works, if you know what I mean.

Here’s the thing, I almost wish she'd be good in a slightly annoying way...but she's not even that. Even her way of being delightfully good, is well, delightfully good.

And here's where it gets worse. I have a difficult time after seeing her, and I can’t stand that.

I prayed over it one morning, saddened I felt that way. She's only human and surely has flaws, so why am I upset after I run into her? I took it to God and confessed these feelings I'd been having.

In return, God said something I wasn't expecting, "She's who you always wanted to be." I knew instantly what He was talking about though.

For someone who flies by the seat of her pants, I sure had the rest of my life planned out by the time I was in high school. Complete with a white picket fence {slightly embarrassing, but true}.  

To sum it up, it would be delightful. Dare I say, I’d be delightful.

Complete with kids who behave just because they want to, a simple marriage, and a sense of style that just works.

I guess I don't need to say much more beyond life happened to those plans. A divorce, years of wilderness walking, and a sense of style that is just barely beginning to find it’s way back from the drudgery of “faded jeans, black shirt.”  

{And no white picket fence in sight.}

Who did you want to be? What were the plans of your heart? Does life feel miles from where you thought it would be at this point?

Here's what I just love. God uses it. He honors it.

God takes who we are today. With the kids who are arguing in the backseat over who gets the headphones. With us in the same black tee shirt as yesterday (or worse, yet, a brand new black tee, with the tags still attached and hanging out of the back - looking so pitiful the nice man collecting the Goodwill donations has to help you…don’t ask me how I know this...), and puts it to use for His Kingdom.  

He takes the me who's now remarried and working desperately to learn from past mistakes, and helps me when I stumble again.  

And again.

And no matter how far off course our life has gotten from our original plan, we are delightful to Him! His plans for us are good! And every single thing in our life, the good, the bad, the times we fall, the times we’re delightful, the times we walk around with the price tag hanging out of our shirt, He can use for good!  

And now when I run into her around town, I no longer feel crushed. God has shown me how He’s taken those old plans and used me in ways I never could have imagined. It might not have been a perfect walk, but He’s redeemed and turned them it good. Every single {now delightful} step.

The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior Who saves. He will take great delight in you; in His love He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.

Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)

*****

Christine Wright, founder of God-sized Dreams.com, lives to inspire others to take bold leaps of faith and trust Jesus with everything. Joel 2:25 is her favorite verse, “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten…” and she knows He can restore everything. 

Christine is married to Mr. Wright and has four kids, ages 17, 15, 8, and 4, who keep her laughing and scrambling for more coffee.  She writes for Christian Women's Voice Magazine and is a contributor for Believe.com. You can find her blogging at Living Joel 2:25.

Photo Credit

Linking up with Sharing His Beauty, Soli Deo Gloria