Happy Wednesday, church family!
Have you ever played the game two truths and a lie? It’s one of those games usually played as an ice breaker, where you share two true things about yourself, and one lie. Everyone has to guess which one is the lie. I’m honestly (pun intended) a pretty lousy liar, so I never did great at that game. I’d try to figure out the most obscure true thing about myself, and counter it with an almost-truth. Side note, I learned that my counselor for winter camp one year could only taste with half of her tongue, after a wisdom tooth extraction went wrong. Needless to say, when it came time for me to have my wisdom teeth removed, I was a little paranoid. I digress. Back to lying. The goal of this game is to shroud the lies in truths, so that it is hard to see what is real. As Pastor Andy was speaking about chasing the empty “beauty” the enemy tantalizes us with, I thought about this game, and how the enemy does the same, with much higher stakes.
I participated in our prayer retreat with Pastor Andy and Debbie in October 2024. One of the focuses of the weekend is to recognize the enemy’s lies that we have been believing. One of my favorite parts is the first evening, when we read through this huge list of the enemy’s most common lies, things I didn’t even KNOW were lies. We all raised our hands, indicating that we had heard these words, believing them to be true. But here’s the thing, they aren’t lies that are outlandish or crazy. They’re subtle, and based on truth. Like the 2 truths and a lie game, the lie is cushioned between truths. The enemy takes something that IS indeed a truth, and skews it, twists the outcome, and tries to make it our identity.
At 3 days old, I was taken from my birth mother, and placed in a foster home. 10 weeks later, I was taken from that foster home and placed with my adoptive parents. Right there is my first trauma- even as a newborn, my body/mind knew I was being taken from what was familiar and placed in a new situation. This is all true. What’s not true is that I was abandoned and rejected. The truth is I was rescued from an awful situation. Yet, like most adopted individuals, my body and mind remembered those early shifts. Enter the weasel satan, who saw this truth, and whispered lies to me, to take something that happened, and place a new, false expectation with it. Somewhere along the line, I started believing that to NOT be abandoned and rejected, I accepted the lie that I’m not enough, that I have to do more, be more, and keep going, even when I’m at my limit. Guess what. THAT’S A LIE!!!
The truth is that yes, like every one of us, I have something in my life that has caused my mind/body/spirit to struggle. But the truth is in God, that He loves me, that I am enough, that I am loved. It’s an area in my life that I am poor in spirit, which is God’s beautiful invitation for me to recognize that I am deficient. I can’t do it alone, I am lacking in a way that only God can comfort me. It’s a chance for me to realize that even though all the yuck happened, I am still worthy, loved, and cherished. I don’t have to prove who I am, what I can do, or earn anything. In the words directly from Debbie at the prayer retreat, I AM ENOUGH!!!
Jesus, thank You for rescuing me in my first weeks of life. Thank You for my real, adopted parents, and their unconditional love for me. I recognize that the truths of my life have created areas to grow, yet also places that I get extra jabs from the enemy. I choose to put on my armor each day, and daily reject the lies that I am abandoned and rejected, and instead believe the truth that I am enough. Bless and seal these good things in me, in Your name, amen.
May your week be blessed,
Lisa
