I went to Meijer today to pick up a few things for this easy chicken enchilada recipe I'm going to try tonight. (If it's good, I'll make sure I post it later!) As I was getting back into my car, I noticed a Barbie doll laying there - no clothes on, arms straight down on her sides, hair messed up and only one pink high heel on. And of course I thought to myself, "this would be great to post on facebook!" So I naturally snapped a picture of Barbie and made a funny post for Facebook! (Gotta love my Droid!)
But as I was driving home, a more serious thought came to mind. (I do some of my best thinking in my car.) How many times have we been just like Barbie? (No, I don't mean lying in a store parking lot completely naked. That would be a whole different post.) Worn out. Exhausted. At our wit's end. And I don't mean physically. Heck, that probably happens just about everyday physically. I mean emotionally. How many times have been in that same place where we just want to throw our hands up cause we have no idea what to do anymore? We just want to lay down...until everything fixes itself cause we can't fix it. Someone or something pushes us down and we just want to lay there...cause we're tired of getting back up all on our own. It feels like nothing we do is right or good enough. Heck, we don't feel good enough. We feel like no one understands and we have no one to depend on. We just want someone to help us get back up - but who? Cause we feel all alone.
As a Christian, my first thought of course is that God is always by our side. We can ALWAYS depend on Him. He loves us unconditionally and will never let us down. And I do believe that with all of my heart!!! But I also know that a lot of times, when we're feeling like Barbie, that's not what we want to hear...it doesn't make us feel any better, it doesn't make our heart any less heavy... Often times, it's this one person who crossed our path (or even maybe several people), who was obedient to God and spoke to us. They make us dinner. Send us a card. Invite us out for a movie. Send a text saying "I love you." It's that person that helps us get back up. And at the time, we may not see God in the big picture. But afterwards, we see that it was Him all along.
Now I would have looked crazy (crazier than normal) had I gone back to Meijer to pick up Barbie (especially since she got ran over by an SUV right after I took the picture). But I'm hoping that the picture I took will serve as a reminder of one of the things God calls us to do. We've all be in the same place Barbie was in...where we just feel downright crappy (for lack of a better word). And someone has come into our lives and helped us up. I think about all of the people I come across on a daily basis and how some of them may feel just like Barbie. I may not be able to tell but they definitely feel that way. What can I do to help? I don't always know what's going on in someone's life. And if my attitude sucks...or I'm snapping at them...or I couldn't even smile at them...how does that affect someone who's already feeling worthless??
I didn't go back and pick up Barbie today. But I'm hoping that I can help pick up the real Barbies I come across in my life. I'd want someone to do it for me.
"You are a treasure possession." (Deuteronomy 7:6)
~thank you~
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