twirl

It was so fun to post new photos of Audrey’s nursery last Friday and you all said some very kind things about it. Thank you!

But the best part for me was that many of you were somehow impacted by the scripture in her room.  For some, it is your favorite verse. For others, it meant something special to you at that particular moment. I love how God’s word can do that … it is living and can speak different things to different people right when you need it most.

So today, I want to share with you why I chose that verse to be Audrey’s.  It is sort of a round-about story and this may go all over the place, but I’ll give it a shot.  Here it goes …

When I was pregnant with our No.1, I read Wild At Heart, by John Eldredge.  I think deep down I knew I was going to have a boy and so I wanted to learn a little more about how they are made and prepare myself for raising a son {as a side: you should read it whether you have boys or not … it’s a great book about manhood}.

When I was pregnant with No.2, I read Captivating, by John’s wife, Stasi.  Perhaps I read it because I thought I was having a girl {which, clearly, I was not}, or maybe it was just because I loved Wild At Heart so much, but truthfully, it didn’t have the same impact. Good, but not great.

Skip forward a few years {in between No.3 & No.4}.  I was at our Ladies’ bible study during worship time and had the sweetest picture dance across my closed eyes.  I saw a little girl, with the sun shining down on her, spinning.

She wore a light dress and with her arms outstretched and her face looking to the sky, she just twirled.

And what I heard in my heart was, “Emily, you’re my girl. I am so pleased with who you are and now I want you to twirl”.

It seemed so strange – twirl? What does that mean?

But because of the book I had read a few years before, I knew.

Stasi Eldredge wrote about little girls who stand on the coffee table and spin while their daddies watch them, adoringly.  That desire to be adored by our dads is ingrained in us from such an early stage.  We want to be beautiful, cherished, captivating.  We twirl without a care, simply because we feel lovely and we want the world {or our daddy!} to see us.

So that Thursday morning, in the middle of bible study, I knew what the Lord was trying to say. He wanted me to know that just as that little girl spins freely in front of her daddy, I, too, can twirl without inhibitions before my Heavenly Father.

I am His girl.

He is delighted in me.

Not because I am great at twirling, but because I am twirling.  I am just being His daughter, His girl and He is pleased.

When I was pregnant with Audrey, I was, again, at bible study when the word DELIGHT came to my mind.  I looked up the word in the concordance of my bible {that back section where it tells what word is found in what scripture verse} and came to Zephaniah 3:17:

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I had read the verse before, but I read it this time with fresh eyes.

He will take great delight in you … He will rejoice over you with singing.

Well, no wonder He wants me to twirl, I thought. It’s because He is the one doing the singing!

Do you see it? Do you see that He loves you SO much that He sings over you?

In a society where we are never good enough, never pretty enough or thin enough or stylish or creative or talented enough, the Lord says,

STOP. I am with you. I am MIGHTY. Strong enough to save you from whatever it is that is after you. Let me quiet you with my love. Will you listen to my sweet voice as I sing my songs of delight over you? You are just as I want you to be. Now be free.

And twirl.

This is such a deep truth that I want for myself and one that I want for my daughter.  I want her to know that above all else, she is perfectly and wonderfully made. She doesn’t need to strive for her God’s love. She doesn’t need to hide from her God’s love. She just needs to accept it.

And twirl.

And so, that is why I chose that verse for my baby girl. And I pray it for you as well.  It is hard being a woman – we feel so many pressures to be what we are not and far too many of us struggle with insecurity.  Oh how we long to be free! How wonderful would it feel to put on our best twirling skirt and dance – and feel beautiful doing it!  I know it is hard and sounds so lofty, but it is what I believe we are to do as daughters of the Most High God. Surely, if He can sing over us, we can step out and dance.

Perhaps even twirl.

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