Balloons

   Picture yourself standing in a field. You are holding a handful of strings with balloons attached to them that are floating in the sky. On each of the balloons a word or a phrase has been written.
  These balloons are your identity. Some of the balloons have been given to you by God. They are who you were created to be. Some of the balloons have been handed to you by other people. You may not have wanted to grab on to the balloon but you felt pressured, or you felt like you had no other option. So you took on the balloon and became someone you were not meant to be.
   God has been speaking to me a lot through this image lately. He only wants us to hold on to the balloons of who He has created us to be. He does not want us to let the world tell us who we should be. Our identity must be found solely in Him. Then we can walk confidently in who He has called us to be.
   A major balloon I held on to was had the word quiet written on it. People constantly spoke that over me. The thing is, they didn't speak it in a positive way. They spoke it saying that I wouldn't talk because I was quiet. I didn't have anything important to say because I was quiet. Being quiet is not bad however I felt that it was a curse. I felt like I had to be quiet. I don't! I have allowed God to speak truth into my life about this. I let go of the balloon quiet. I picked up a different balloon from God that says a quiet and gentle spirit that is pleasing to the Lord. It might seem the same to you, but it's not. ;) I have a new confidence in who I am. I am okay with the fact that I don't always have something to say. I don't have to. But, when I do have something to say, I'll say it. No fear. God is my boldness.
   We all carry balloons. Some good. Some bad. Some true. Some false. I want to challenge you to take the time to get with God and ask Him to show you what your true identity is. It doesn't matter how old you are. Some of us live our whole lives allowing people to give us our identity instead of God. Don't allow that anymore. Let God speak His truth into your life. Let go of any balloons that are not of God.  I promise you, it will change your life!! :)

"But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

whose confidence is in Him.

He will be like a tree planted by the water

that sends outs its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes;

its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought

and never fails to bear fruit."

Jeremiah 17:7-8