It has been a crazy time lately. Y’all know the scoop. It surely isn’t one filled with ice cream.

I don’t want to talk about that. I want to say some things that have been in my heart for a while now. They are what I would say to a young woman, an elder, and anyone in between.

You… looking into the mirror as the years pass. Watching in slow motion as you change. Your heart shows evermore so on your frame, as your inner sadness etches its way across your face.

Who am I?

Little one. You are you. Unique in the cosmos. No one like you. Never was one such as you made.

You are more than special.

In spite of the constant aberration you receive from your peers, and the shame you feel for wanting something. Something more….

I am?

Yes you are.

The One that made you smiles at you brightly even though all you can see are the grey clouds and fog surrounding you.

Hmm.

We know this inner dance of grace, and the war against its tenderness becomes heavy as time passes.

What should I be?

Isn’t being good enough? For all the friends that abound, how many scorch your heart with shame? Acting superior to you in every way, as the crack grows larger across the window pane of their hearts.

This doesn’t need to be your fates beloved ones.

It needn’t be the fate of anyone.

Yet… for all of you Daughters of the King. Hear me, I humbly ask.

Is it right that you court a world for an inner safety that it does not know?

Should the opinions of your peers make your shame so?

You are not judged by the Father.

You may not even be judged by others.

The tainted self is the cruelest taskmaster to your own admiration.

You smear mud upon your form when God himself would never do it to you.

You face forces that tell you that you aren’t pretty, smart, or royal.

Heaven’s sake. I hate the world you face. I would never pretend to know it from experience.

But…

I have seen the tears well up in your eyes… you daughters of God.

Behind the silk veil of happiness.

In that cold place, where the Holy Spirit can be found haunting ethereally within. Giving off a tender, yet softly chilling presence that says.

“I love you my daughter.”

Whatever Mother you had; whatever Father you had….

I want you to know this.

God loves you.

You are more than good enough.

Apart from a group — you have an identity, and you matter.

Daughters of God, be not ashamed to feel; to love; to seek truth; and to explore what your heart holds.

Don’t be as the silly bug that gets burned in the light.

Find yourself, and find your heart in God. For you were always found by Him, and by the Spirit of Grace. You have always been embraced by Her.

Say what is on your mind. All of it.

Speak what you feel in truth and love.

Don’t feel ashamed for feeling like your words are inadequate, or not truly conveying what is in your heart.

Speak.

Speak as you are, not as people think you ought to.

Be honest. Be daring. Be straight-forward.

And lastly, but most importantly, be real. Though it’s scary… you will never receive all that being can bring by faking it.

To hell with what society expects of you.

As long as you are humble; you search for truth; and you love sincerely… you are a Daughter of God.

You always were.

What will that mirror say to you now?

Peace.