Free to Be Me!

I posted the song first, it is so fitting for me.  I love the lyrics "Got a couple dents in my fender, got a couple of rips in my jeans."  How many of us feel that way?  I know I do....I feel as if I wear a scarlett letter on my chest.  That all anyone can see is who I was before Christ and not who I am now.  Everytime I speak for Stonecroft I get incredibly nervous, to the point of getting sick.  I always ask God, why me?  I have nothing to offer these professional women, wealthy women, what could I possibly say that they would relate to.  Noone has to beat me up emotionally I do a good enough job on my own.  Then after I speak, more women than I would like can relate to my story.  I always say don't judge a book by its cover, yet I do.  But in the opposite way, I look at someone who is dressed nicely or I think has a lot of money and then I look at myself and say "what could my story offer them?"  Then when they shake my hand and hug me for a brief moment I am praying they just see the love of Christ coming through me.  I really believe that the my story I share is not my own but Christs.  He was abused, persecuted and abandoned just like me in my story.  I have to work everyday on my self image and to try to see what Christ sees in me.  He doesn't see the dents in my fender or the rips in my jeans or MY scarlett letter...He just sees my heart and love for Him.  He takes the weak to lead the strong.