Captivating Mermaids

First of all, I just want to give a shout out to my friend Yvonne for planning an incredible movie night for our Jr. High girls. We ended up watching The Little Mermaid and discussing all of the real life parallels. The girls were amazed at how this cartoon movie could possibly relate to their lives as young women. I probably hadn't seen The Little Mermaid in at least ten years until tonight, but I was so blown away by how much it reeked of truth about who we are as women.

I've also been reading Captivating and Wild At Heart by John and Stasi Eldredge lately. I love these books because they affirm that men and women are snapshots of God's heart for us. In other words, our longings and desires strongly correlate to the ones that God feels for us.

For a refresher on the plot of The Little Mermaid, click HERE

Ariel believes she has to change herself so that Eric will love her, and she almost destroys herself and her family in the process. I cannot tell you how many times I have become sick with this lie. Haven't we all? Ariel is willing to sign away her future and give up her voice for something that might not even last. Stasi Eldredge says this: "Little girls want to know Am I lovely? The twirling skirts, the dress up, the longing to be pretty and to be seen - that is what that's all about. We are seeking the answer to our Question. [...] Nearly all a woman does in her adult life is fueled by her desire to be delighted in, her longing to be beautiful, to be irreplaceable, to have her Question answered "Yes!" THIS is why we turn to the lies that tell us that we need to be someone else to be captivating. Just as Ariel turns to Ursula for her legs, we turn to the lies that tell us to change ourselves, act more seductive, or pursue relationships that go against God's best for our lives. As I've been growing closer to God's heart this year, I feel like I've been experiencing more and more freedom from this each day. All I want is for all of the other women in my life to know that God delights in us SO MUCH that we don't need anything else to answer our Question.

Ursula promises Ariel love, but then proceeds to sabotage Ariel's chances every opportunity she gets. Ursula even goes so far as to use Ariel's stolen voice and to masquerade herself as a beautiful woman. Ursula doesn't create anything - all she does is destroy and steal. That is so like the enemy that we know. He comes to steal and destroy everything that is good - including romance. As women, we have such desire for romance - "What happens to each woman is that romance releases her true beauty and awakens her heart. She comes alive. As women, we long to be loved in a certain way, a way unique to our femininity. We long for romance. We are wired for it; it's what makes our hearts come alive." (More Captivating). I get so angry when I realize that the enemy has lied to me and told me that I can only be validated by hastily finding a dating relationship and letting intimacy with that person alone fill the void that God longs to fill. The Lord promises us so much in this area. Hosea 2:14 says: "Therefore I am going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her." As women, we have a choice to make. We can either accept the enemy's lie that a relationship holds all of our value and then proceed to watch him destroy everything good about it, or we can choose to wait on the Lord and let Him satisfy our deepest desires. It's truly wonderful if you think about it - we get to let the Lord prepare our hearts for His best and be loved passionately at the same time. I think I'm becoming more and more thankful everyday that God has called me into such deep romance with Him. I can hardly fathom seeking a relationship right now, because I am so aware of His faithfulness and His desire to continue preparing me to be an amazing wife someday.

I am so stoked about freedom and romance with Jesus, and I want so badly for people to know the truth that I've been growing in. As women, we cannot accept the world's lies that a string of broken hearts and "dating experience" is required to find our soul mate. We cannot allow ourselves to be seduced by the insincere beauty of the enemy. God desires so much more for us, but we must break free of anything that does not reflect the beautiful things that God promises. For me, that means being single right now and surrendering my love life completely over to Jesus every chance I get. I'm not going to lie, it's really hard sometimes. Recently, it has become so easy for me to get distracted by some of the incredible guys in my life. This is why I am so thankful for my two best friends who keep me accountable to freedom and God's best.

If anything, we are meant to be the princesses of our own fairy tales. The truth is that we are beautiful daughters of an incredibly generous and powerful king who is fiercely protective of our future. He wants the best for us, and He is faithful in preparing us for beautiful romance. All we have to do is consent to live under His power and rule before, during, and after we ride off into the sunset with a prince handpicked by Him.

Here's to misdirected inspiration. ...Back to my paper on nonprofit resourcing and theoretical approaches.