Vanity, thy name is Kim

Before I had kids, I worked 3 days a week. I was a dental assistant and one of my best girlfriends was our hygienist. We spent a lot of afternoons by the pool, sunning ourselves, reading and talking. The reason this worked for me is because I didn't have to wear a bathing suit if I didn't want to. I wasn't going to swim. I was just going to lounge by the pool and catch rays. I wore a lot of shorts and tank tops or swimsuits with a sarong to hide all the stuff I needed hidden.

The summer after Elijah was born, I realized that if I wanted to enjoy my son's first experience in a swimming pool, I was going to have to go out in public in a swim suit. For awhile I was horrified, but then I realized that I could not let vanity come between me and my children. I wanted to create memories of me in the water with them, having fun. I didn't want to be the one sitting on the side of the pool, watching all the fun. So I put on my swimsuit and hoped for the best. You know what I discovered? No one but me cares what I look like in a swimsuit. Everyone else around the pool is far too paranoid about what they look like in their swimsuits to pay any attention to me.

I learned a good lesson from that first summer as a mother. We miss out on a lot when we let vanity get in our way.

My Mom is struggling with this very thing right now. My brother's future in-laws had my parents over for Memorial Day and my parents invited them over for Fourth of July to reciprocate. This has brought out all of my Mom's insecurities. Apparently my future-sister-in-law's parents have an immaculate house and yard. My Mom is feeling like her home is inadequate to entertain in now that she has seen where the other parents live. I want to clarify a few things for you: #1)Kayla's parents are some of the nicest, most down-to-earth people you will ever meet. #2) My parents have a perfectly nice house.

My Mom is probably embarrassed as she reads this and I don't mean to throw her under the bus. I've just realized how often we all act like this. Maybe not these exact circumstances, but something similar. How often do we avoid having people over for fellowship because our "house is just a mess"? How often do we avoid taking people who are recovering a meal because we don't think we're good enough cooks? How often do we avoid volunteering for things that might take us out of our comfort zone? How often do we avoid praying in public because we are afraid of saying the wrong things? Here's the best one....How often do we avoid telling people about Jesus because we're afraid of looking like a "Jesus Freak"?

I'm guilty of all of these things. I'm not pointing any fingers here. I was just reconvicted this morning of how ugly our pride can be. I honestly believe it's one of Satan's most effective (and easiest) tools. All he has to do is remind us of how inadequate we feel and he chains us to our insecurites, closing doors God wanted us to open. So next time he tries to make you feel unworthy, just sic the Lion of Judah on him. He'll think twice about messing with you next time.