What Do You Believe About You?

I needed a feel-good story this week, so I dove into Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman.  Oh, how I love this book!  It was simply splendid, a happily ever after story populated with women who are witty, loving, smart, and hilarious.  They band together to help a little girl get back on track, a theme that has a special place in my heart right now.

This book was also HIGHLY quote-worthy.  About every 5 pages, I was stopping to jot down some pearl of wisdom (Beth Hoffman, if you decide that novels aren't for you, I suspect you could have a VERY lucrative career in self-help)  One that's had me thinking ever since I read it (on page 249) is this:

"It's what we believe about ourselves that determines how others see us." 


It sounds a bit wish-fulfillment-ey...but the more I think about it, the more it seems true.

On the negative side, I'm always amazed by how narcissists get what they want.  All the time.  From people who know they are narcissists, are exasperated by them, and hate being under their influence.  And yet because narcissists believe that what they want is the only thing that matters, it's remarkable how people line up to give it to them.

On a more positive note, though, this quote also explains how, when we say yes to what Jesus offers, we become new.  As the Apostle Paul put it, "the old has gone, the new has come."  If we BELIEVE that we're forgiven for our screw ups, loved by God, created for a purpose (even if we can't yet see exactly what that looks like), and able to do & and be WAY more than our natural abilities allow through the gifts & power of God working in us, that changes our perspective.  Which changes how others see us.

It's not a manipulative thing; we don't control others' perceptions.  Rather, as we see ourselves as God does, they see us as God does, too.  Kind of neat how that works.

Of course, it doesn't mean everyone RESPONDS like God to what they see.  Some folks don't like it at all.  But it makes it a whole lot easier to navigate life when your perspective on this one thing is lined up with God.

Thank you, Beth Hoffman!