How's Your View?

I have two more heroes. Two gutsy women put it all on the line this weekend. They told their story. No, their REAL story. Four times. In front of hundreds of people. It was enough to summon internal cheers and a few external tears. Courage at its best. Selflessness above all. Two friends removed themselves from the picture, risked image, perception and reputation in exchange for outstretching their hands to others. Beauty at its finest. I couldn’t resist allowing them to reach out to you as well…


“…by taking a moral inventory of my life, I was able to see patterns of behavior. Through doing this, I discovered for the first time some of my family mottoes…These mottoes were not spoken…but more like, This is the way we do life in our house. Some of these mottoes were:

• You must please other people at all costs.
• Do not waste anything at all, even if it’s to your detriment.
• Pretend like it’s okay when it’s not.
• We are an island. We don’t need anyone outside of the family.

I believe that seeing these mottoes in black in white… that this was the first step for me toward change, toward making real change through a life process of depending on God."

“My life before was unmanageable. I was the Queen. Life was all about me, getting my way on my terms, in my timing because I knew best…I had the appearance of having it all together. If everything looked good on the outside, I felt good on the inside…I lived in self-centered fear…The walls I built for self-protection were insurmountable. I lived a double-life in repeated denial that anything was wrong…I isolated more, and I even prayed more…but hopelessness overcame me. I realized I could not change on my own strength. I surrendered my life and control. The Lord’s will (became) my daily goal and focus…I learned the tools to live life on life’s terms. This new life is amazing. I am becoming a new person. It is a slow journey, however, that takes patience. Now, I am no longer the Queen, but a beloved daughter of the King. I never have to be alone again because I belong to His Kingdom.”

Why do we do it? Why do we look beyond our own circles for heroes? Is it an insecure need for our champions to be perfect, to be all-conquering, and therefore…inhuman? Take another look at the people around you, not an obligatory glance, but a REAL examination. I had the chance to do just that this weekend as my two new heroines stood before the masses.

The view was spectacular.

"I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him..." Isaiah 57:18