Fearless
“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
- Paul to the church in Corinth
This story is about a young girl with a very fragile heart. A girl who loved to sing and perform in front of others. The one that took all those roles in her church and school. Upfront and unashamed. It was part of her glory and her greatest joy.
Until one day when everything changed. A school assembly with pretty much everyone present, including the cute boy she was currently carrying a crush for. That young beautiful heart was at the microphone, full of joy and offering part of the glory of her life…when her voice cracked. Amplified and on full display for all to hear, including the cute boy only a few paces behind her. And she’s had the laughter of everyone, including him, echoing in her ears for the last two decades.
Ironically, she didn’t lose her love of music. One of her side hustles became DJ’ing where she could offer the music she loved to others without tempting fate in a way that might reference her most embarrassing moment.
Until about 3 years ago. At a LIfePlan retreat we hosted, she found uncommon hope and courage. She committed to learning to play the guitar which was something she had always wanted to do. Another unwitting casualty of the voice cracking incident so long ago.
And so she learned to play guitar and she started to sing. Really only in front of family and only in the name of fun, but she started to sing. And then the story got really interesting.
A mentor she was co-hosting a retreat with asked her to write a song for the women attending the retreat. And then, she asked that she play it for her and all the other women at the retreat. Gulp. Double gulp.
And without knowing, she was asking her to stare her greatest fear, sourced from her greatest embarrassment, and say $%^*& you. For our enemy’s greatest assault is against our glory. We were placed here to offer one aspect of the Divine’s glory that no other creature can. She had not only had her voice silenced but she also had some of the glory of the Divine she carries, shrouded.
This wasn’t simply facing your fear of heights kind of thing. This was staring down the assault of a lifetime against your joy, your glory, a precious and unique treasure stolen. So beautiful. So courageous.
And so she sang. And they all marveled. And they reached for their phones to record and they asked how they could get a recording to listen to this glory over and over again. Rescue. Restoration. Victory. What could be more beautiful than this?
Well here is the rest of the story…
She recently had her two-year review with her employer and her birthday occurred on the same day. The gift she received from them was two hours in a professional recording studio to play and record her song. To memorialize her victory. To reclaim, for all eternity, glory lost and found.
Rescue.
Restoration.
Victory.
So beautiful.
So courageous.
She is glorious and beautiful in every way and she is just getting started on letting everyone know.
Consider
What great gift, joy, or pleasure was stolen from you?
Have you so given up on believing it could be reclaimed that you have forgotten it?
What would it feel like to reclaim what has been lost?
How would it change your life and others if you did?