The Kitchen Floor

Back in the 1900’s, we had this passive-aggressive (sometimes aggressive-aggressive depending on who was playing) game called Red Rover. You would line up with other kids, holding hands, and call the kids who hadn’t been chosen to join the line over with a chant, “Red rover, red rover, let Jessica come over.” (Yes, I’m aware of the meaning on this game from a segregation front, but that’s not the content of this post, we will come back to that in another post). If that child wasaccepted by their peers, they would have little resistance as they ran with all their little legs might and tried to break the arms of the line to join them. But if that little friend was not accepted by their peers, it was a full-on clotheslining, or they would bounce off the arm-chain they were trying to break through. I hated this game, not because I was rejected, but because my heart couldn’t handle watching other kids experience mean-hearted “friends” in real time. As the eldest child in a pastor’s family, I was raised to include all those around me and taught empathy from day one. Emotional intelligence is one of the greatest gifts, aside from a biblical foundation, my parents gave me. But like every gift, the enemy loves to twist it into something worldly that is intended to hurt or destroy us and those around us. (John 10:10). For me, it was people pleasing and a desire to be wanted. 

As I grew into adulthood, I found myself in deep need of understanding my own identity in Christ. That season is actually what started my searching in the Word, word studies, and hunger for truth. I had read the verses thousands of times, was often silenced by Sunday school teachers and youth leaders because I had a theological understanding that others in the room didn’t, but I still didn’t understand how it translated into my identity. As the Holy Spirit unraveled years of identity being wrapped up in how those around me perceived me, what benefits I brought to the table, and how well I performed in every arena, the truth of my identity from the Word was poured into those holes. 

One of the most impactful words in scripture for healing those areas of wrong thinking has been Chosen. Over and over God tells us He has chosen us, gentile and Jews, He has chosen us to follow Him and live in the abundance of being His child. 1 Peter 2:9 is one of my favorite references in scripture. Peter, the impulsive one, who denied Christ, and was still chosen to share the Gospel on the day of Pentecost, wrote the words that pierce through the lies of the enemy. “You are a CHOSEN race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” This choice of words paints a picture for me of being called out of a wet, cold cave into the embrace of a warm summer sun, birds chirping, and grass under my feet. He calls us, by name (Isaiah 43:1), out of the darkness and into His marvelous light. Right into His embrace! No questioning if you run hard enough and just the right way, can you break through the religious cliques, into the small groupies, or be accepted by the church? God says He chose you and called you, right into His arms, His family, forever wanted. 

You are handpicked by God, to be His family. The King of kings has chosen you to be royalty. Like most little girls. I wanted nothing more than to be a princess. The dresses, the shoes, the castles, they filled my daydreams. Our flowerbeds transformed into a magical forest, the wisteria vine became my princess castle, and the magnolia trees were towers that overlooked the kingdom. I would spend hours singing about whatever I was pretending, because obviously, that is what princesses do: they sing about whatever is happening in their world. The story of Sleeping Beauty was used as a tool by the Lord when I was young to teach me the gospel in a way nothing else could. I’ll share with you, in case you have a little princess in your life, too. I was Sleeping Beauty, born to be royalty, but because of a curse (the fall in Genesis), I was separated from my Father, the King. Now, this happens so early in Sleeping Beauty’s life that she grows up in a different world, knowing about the castle, but not understanding that it was where she belonged. One day, a prince comes to her part of the kingdom, and she falls in love with him, but as all stories go, there’s trauma, and next thing you know, she’s asleep because of her own choices while being seduced by the evil one. The prince learns of her situation and fights the evil one in the form of the dragon, sacrificing his own life to save her. But he didn’t die, He was alive, victorious over evil, and gave her the kiss of life, true love, because she was worth his sacrifice. She awakens to truth, learning her identity, and being restored to royalty.

 I hope those parallels were easy for you to follow, but just in case it was not clear, I’ll break it down. We were created to be God’s children, royalty, enjoying all the benefits of His family. But sin separated us early on, and we spend our lives in another environment. Some are aware God exists, they even know the Gospel, but they live as though they have no reason to believe it’s for them. So God sent His son, Jesus, to enter our world, share how much He loves us, and invite us back to the life we were intended to live. The enemy will seduce us, convince us it’s all a lie, and distract us to the point of death in order to keep us as far from God’s kingdom as possible. We fall asleep to the lull of this world, the hum of accolades, promotions, followers, and the lack thereof. But our prince, Jesus, didn’t leave us to die in our sleeping state. He fought the enemy, rising victorious over all evil, even death, and brought us back to life in Him. Restored us to our place in the royal family, and we can now live confidently in our identity as a Child of God. 

In my late high school and college years, I had the best adventure of being a nanny to 3 of my favorite humans to walk this earth. They are still some of my favorite people, even though I have to remind myself they are grown adults now. These 3 kids were not just a “job”, they were mine for that season. We had adventures, ate too many snowcones, learned how to speak life over people, had real-life lessons in forgiveness, cried together, and laughed for hours. When Jeremy and I got married, I would still call them to check on them. I mean, we had spent every day together for years, even the day I got married, they were present and a part of our day. One of those phone calls, the youngest was asking me why I sounded sad. I just said I missed home, them, and was trying to learn a new way of living in my new role as a wife, in a new state, with a husband who was overseas on deployment. She immediately exclaimed, “But Nanny-fer! We are still family! Remember?! You said, “When we ask Jesus into our hearts, we become a daughter of the King, and that makes us a princess.” And you know what that means, right?! We are sisters, in real life!” That moment will forever live rent-free in my heart. When the simple truth of the Gospel and eternal family pierced through darkness, and put me in His embrace. This moment was also the reason I commissioned huge wooden signs for my children that declare their identity in Christ to hang outside their rooms. The girl’s sign reads, “I am a daughter of the King, that makes me a princess. Worth more than jewels. Brave and Kind. Everywhere I go I know God is with me.” My boy’s sign reads, “I am a son of the King. That makes me a prince. Brave and Courageous. A strong warrior. Everywhere I go I know God is with me.” Sometimes, after a hard day ends, I step into the walkway between their rooms and read the signs as a reminder they are chosen, loved, and called. I get the honor of raising them in this world, but they are children of the King. 

Too often, I see adults living under the labels this world has put on them. Richardo Sanchez said it like this, “The devil knows your name but calls you by your sin. God knows your sin, but calls you by your name.” Why do we let the mistakes Christ has covered through His sacrifice define us? Our Heavenly Father has already said we were worth giving up His only son, so that we could have life with Him! (John 3:16). We are only putting Him back on the cross every time we choose to identify with our sins instead of rejoicing in His victory over them. We are to proclaim His excellencies in our lives, not thump our Bibles and recall how horrible humans are. He chose to surrender to the Cross knowing how much humans didn’t deserve a rescuer, a redeemer, or a savior. But He chose us anyway. That is something worth celebrating and declaring for everyone to hear. 

Right now, more than ever, our World needs grace, hope, and the Gospel. They need to know that lost things hold value to their creator. He leaves the 99 to find the one, because we are the ones who are lost. (Luke 15). We have swallowed the lies that afflicted means we are ineffective, and damaged means we are done, cast off, thrown to the side. But that’s not what the Word says. He says we are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37), and we are His! (Isaiah 43:1). You need a new revelation of who you are, but that comes from knowing WHOSE you are. You can never fully grasp who God has made you to be, or what He will call you to do. Every day is an adventure with Him. We must know who we are in Him, what He calls us, how He sees us, and the authority we have through Christ as the children of the King to slay dragons and fight the good fight, while holding our chin high in confidence of whose we are. 

Maybe you haven’t ever accepted Christ’s gift of grace, or you haven’t accepted it in a way that allows you to walk in your identity in Him. Whatever the case, I would love to talk to you more one-on-one, so please email me! I will call you and answer questions to the best of my ability, and pray over you. I have full confidence that He has grace enough for what you are walking through, who you were, and a glorious opposite for who you are in Him. I can’t think of a better way to spend my days than leading others to His embrace. The offer is there if you choose to accept it. You’re welcome to sit here on the Kitchen Floor as long as you need. You’re not alone. No labels from the world can stick to you here. You are loved, chosen, wanted, and adored here. Just as you are.