ON FAT KIDS. AND MY MASTERPIECE.

I was in the bleachers, watching my sons’ basketball game. I seemed to be surrounded by little fat kids. Icons of proxy parenthood. Zombified by their devices. Throwing back diabetes in bottles. Grimy little hands digging into bags of chips. One after another. Little particles cascading down everywhere.

I’m not going to sugarcoat this. Sometimes you have to just face your unconverted self. You have to stand before God without your disguise. Be before Him and others, not as you’d want them to see you, but as you really are. So, here I am! And I have to say it took everything in me not to lean over and say in a calm, matter-of-fact voice, just loud enough for parents to hear: “You know what? You’re fat. Really fat! You don’t need a snack. You need a treadmill. I have to tell you, Jabba started out like you. Look where he ended up.”

So, smugly amused by these ugly thoughts, the Holy Spirit began whispering to my inmost spirit: “Now that I’ve got your attention, let me tell you something. You’re fat. Really, really FAT! Only worse, because you don’t think you are! You think because you know the Menu you’re eating the Meal. But you know what? You’re NOT! Your heart is far from me! You’re constantly engorging. On junk. Leaving you all the more empty. How’s that working out for you?”

This was not the first of such Divine provocation. It will surely not be the last. This is what jealous, loving Fathers do. Accordingly, my eyes were opened a bit more. He allowed me to see more clearly the bags of “chips” in my life. My pigging out. So many different forms. One after another. And He showed me all the “devices” in my life. All the times and ways I'm pining for fulfillment where it can not be found.

And into this ugly, spiritual cesspool of my soul, He clearly spoke these words: “You want to know what you really are? You want to know what I really think of you?”

YOU ARE A MASTERPIECE
You don't need to be filled with junk.
You don't need a snack.
You don't need a drink.
You don't need that new thing.
You don't need to be stimulated.
You don't need to check.
You don't need emotional turmoil.
You don't need the bad memory.
You don't need self-contempt.
You don't need the whispering lies.
You don't need the abuse.
You don't need to retaliate.
You don't need the anguish.
You don't need to be admired.
You don't need to be consulted.
You don't need to be included.
You don't need to run.
You don't need to hide.
You don't need to make excuses.
You don't need to be needed.
You don't need to be the savior.

Turn it all into prayer. Turn to Me.
I am your Master. I will give you self-mastery.

Be My Masterpiece.