“Wherever we go, whatever we do,
we’re gonna go through it together.
We may not go far, but sure as a star,
wherever we are, it’s together.”
Lyrics to an old song capturing the relationship of a few of my grandchildren and their security blankets,
“Together, Wherever We Go.”
There’s been Greeny, Pinky, Glanket, and Blankie;
all names for those inseparable best friends
who’ve been dragged behind,
Gone for the ride,
Has a soothing smell,
Is a shoulder to cry on,
Is their TV buddy,
A soft pillow to lie on,
Safe arms to comfort while they sleep,
Together, Wherever They Go,
Security for her insecurity of being a baby in a big girl world.
We all carry a blanket of security for our insecurity some time in our life.
It may not be a soft, fuzzy Glanket to find sweet dreams beneath, or a special Pinky to share a fretful moment with.
But we all carry security for our insecurity, finding it hard at times to go it alone without our Blankie of choice.
Little girls and little boys outgrow their fuzzy best friends, yet sometimes struggle to make new friends with the face they meet in the mirror of growing up.
Changes can be awkward, sometimes painful and school kids have no problem pointing them out. Rich kids and poor kids have insecurities. Overweight and skinny kids have theirs too. Hard to imagine for the rich or skinny kids, but insecurities do not discriminate. Kids find security in the library of studying books, or hours spent behind closed doors of their room. Kids find security in food or lack thereof, all securities that keep their insecurities hidden in public.
No matter the age, we all carry security for our insecurity.
Some find security in friendships to mask their insecurity of being alone. Some find security in sleep unable to cope with the insecurity of being awake without that loved one.
Some live life in the security of the fast lane unable to face the painful train wreck in the rear view mirror they suffered relationally a few miles back.
Some burn the “midnight oil” in their jobs as security for all the years of insecurity when forced to go without.
Some find comfort in the security of being immobilized in their lack of confidence after experiencing the insecurity from the fall of “taking a risk”.
Young or old, or middle aged, we all carry security for our insecurity.
As a young girl not affirmed from her father, I struggled with insecurities of facing the mirror. Wanting to be his princess and sharing daddy-daughter moments together, I was never told by him I was pretty or beautiful, therefore I believed the other must be true.
Looking back at old report cards, I recall the security behind getting good grades; and there were a lot of them. I loved books, the library and my room, all friends that accepted me just as I was.
But I was forced to face life at school, at church and at home while still hiding behind my insecurity of the mirror.
Thankfully though we have a Heavenly Father who created
…and made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)
Thankfully I serve a loving Father who saw me beautiful and wanted me to know so at the family dinner table one night years ago.
Sitting in the same exact seats as we six kids did at every meal around the table, I remember feeling isolated in my thoughts that particular night. Multiple conversations were occurring between siblings while I continued to eat my dinner. Nothing unusual about that evening until the room went silent when my older brother for some unprovoked reason pointed at me and spoke up to me with these life altering words,
“Lori, when you grow up, you are going to be so beautiful.”
Why a brother would call me out from my wall of insecurity can only be the move of God. Brothers just don’t do those things. But God’s words through him changed my life.
That night for the first time while facing the mirror, I could see myself through the eyes that created me. I could see the inner loveliness that penetrated the outward. I finally felt like a daddies girl with these words,
He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)
Young or old, or middle aged, we all carry security for our insecurity.
Yet God would have us lay at the altar before Him with only the security of His Presence.
In His Presence we don’t need our security blankets anymore,
as He is security enough.
In His presence we can find comfort.
In His presence, He’s a safe shoulder to cry on.
In His presence, we can follow Him anywhere.
In His presence, we can find peaceful sleep.
In His presence,
My heart and soul explode with joy—full of glory!
Even my body will rest confident and secure.
Psalm 16:9 (TPT)
God, you are our security for our insecurity.
“Wherever we go, whatever we do,
we’re gonna go through it together.
We may not go far, but sure as a star,
wherever we are, it’s together.”
“Together, Wherever We Go.”
Apples of Gold Encouragement 