I recently had the great privilege of being involved in a groundbreaking and life-changing event. The IF:Gathering was an event that took place earlier in February in Austin, but was live-streamed for the world to watch. Jennie Allen, Jen Hatmaker, Angie Smith and Ann Voskamp were among the line-up for the 2-day event. I have pages of notes, and I am contemplating purchasing the recording so that I can really soak in all of the insight these women had to say. I would love to post my notes and share them with you, but they would lose meaning out of context. But, there was a poem that pretty much sums up the entire event. It was read by Ann Voskamp and Amena Brown, I'm pretty sure Ann Voskamp wrote the poem. It is long, but oh so worth the read!
What does it mean to be an Esther Generation? It means that we are here, right where we are, in whatever circumstance we are in "for such a time as this." (Esther 4:14). This is OUR time. What are you doing with it?
And thank you to The Overwhelmed Woman for taking the time to write out the poem!
Esther Generation (From IF:Gathering)
They say you should travel
light
But most of our lives we
carry it all on our backs
These days it isn’t our
arms that stay weighed down
It’s our minds
We wake up in a panic
It’s our thoughts that hyperventilate
for fear
Of making mistakes.
For fear of failing or
succeeding
Or fear that we’ll never
move past our past
That we’ll be exactly who
they said we’d be
That we’ll never be more
than what was done to us
That we will continue to be
taken advantage of
That we should accept shame
as a companion to carry with us
That we should let the lies
befriend us
The lies
started in a garden
Spoken slyly by a
slithering serpent with his syrupy sweet: “Did God really say?”
And we’ve be doubting ever
since
Allowing an unwelcome guest
to make himself at home in our lives, minds, gardens
Keep us bound with
slithering fear
that we are damaged goods
Never going to be good
enough
Not enough brains, not
enough brawn
Not enough guts to take
anything on.
But there is no time for
being soft or weak
That at all times we have
to be tough
That we’ll never be perfect
That we’ll never be worth
it
That we’ll never be enough
And sometimes we feel God
calling us, nudging us
Trying to show us
but somehow we stay trapped
Behind walls of unbelief
and unforgiveness
Our arm’s a weary rope
caught in a vicious tension
Tug of war between our fear
and our calling
Between worry and peace
Comfort and inconvenience
Comparing ourselves to each
other
While battling low self
esteem
Do we do what’s practical?
Or follow our dreams?
Do we take care of
ourselves?
Or meet others people’s
needs?
Should we fight?
Should we please?
Should we hide from who we
are to put other people at ease?
And then the lies begin to
echo and amplify
Loser
Time abuser
Mess producer
Who needs you?
She’s so much better
Just look at her
You actually thought that
was a good idea?
Open your mouth and they’ll
laugh long enough that you’ll shut your mouth
You aren’t smart enough
You aren’t good enough
You aren’t sharp enough
Who do you think you are?
Fear is our chain and it’s
rattling us hard
It’s the poison that
deadens our hearts
Fear of failing
Fear of flailing
Fear of the arrows
Fear of the way named
narrow
Fear of the shear rock in
front of you that begs you sweat and climb
Climb out of that drug dead
comforting pit they call status quo
And break right up through
the earth and into the life you were born for
In the now of your life
while there is still time and hunger in your veins
Turn around and shake off
that snake
Because its head’s been
crushed, no pulverized
So let go of the lie.
Sometimes we imagine that
God’s voice is a disappointed hard lined teacher
Who is waiting to whack our
knuckles with a ruler for any imperfections
But that isn’t God’s voice
at all
That isn’t Gods heart at
all
He speaks tenderly
He doesn’t need to raise
his voice
He speaks as if He’s right
next to us
Because He’s right next to
us
Because He goes before us
Because His spirit lives
inside us
He starts with love
And not because He is a
hopeless romantic
But mostly because
He is ALL LOVE and HOPE and
SECOND CHANCES
Let go of the fanged lie
and bind the wound with dressings of Truth that will heal your bloodied soul
Take that sharp edge of His
Word and hack that snake creeping up the back your neck
The words
The only life hack that
will hack off the lie of the snake and make your life whole
We fear that the place we
think God’s love will run out or dry up
We fear that place where we
think God’s love will run out, dry up, fall of the edge
And we’ll be left dangling
beyond its reach
We fear that somewhere
God’s love ends
But His love never runs out
His steadfast love
surpasses suburbia
Canvases from skyscrapers
to street corners from porch to stoop
His love is looking for
you.
Who would you be?
What would you do?
If you weren’t afraid
Could be that you’ve always
wanted to come up through the ground
in some desolate place that
needed a tree
To bear some fruit for
someone with their tongue stuck to the dry roof of their parched mouth
To be a limb that held some
baby abandoned
To be a limb that someone
could used to swing over the fence and free
We were made from dust
A bit of earth kissed by
heaven
made to be groundbreakers
And peacemakers
And freedom shakers
So you can take your glossy
Vogue covers and use them for washing windows
Because we’ve always
thought the most beautiful women have dirt under their fingernails
And could shake a bit of
the very earth out of their warn and pioneering shoes
And lets redefine comfort
zone because wherever He takes you
You are with the comforter
Wherever He calls you
You are always in his
comfort zone
So live all your present
moments in His presence
To keep company with Christ
To get in on the best
There’s a whole Esther
generation right here and now and it is us
Who come broken
Who are done being defeated
by fear and worry and stress
Because it advertises the
unreliability of God
Who want hard and Holy
things because we want more than hallow lives
A life more than self focus
and cell phones
More than iPhones, iTunes
and iLove
Who want a life of loving
the least, the lonely, and the lost
There is a whole Esther generation rising right here and now and it is
us
Who are done with easy
Who know that being like
Christ and caring for the poor in body and soul
Means more than just caring
about easing our consciences
It means living real
sacrifice
There is a whole Esther
generation rising right here and now and it is us
Who say now is the time for
the faith brave
To sky dive and fly
To remember that we don’t
have to strive to be anyone
To stop taking issue with
what God made
To accept that our perfect
God makes no mistakes
There is a whole Esther
generation rising right here and now and it is us
To take the weight we carry
on our backs
And offer it back to the
savior who already carried the weight of the world on his shoulders
Who surrender
Who lay out alabaster hopes
and dreams at the feet of our Savior
There is a whole Esther
generation rising right here and now and it is us
Who will no longer look for
peace in opinions
But to find our solid
ground in the truth
There are many tomorrows to
face
But today, lets open our
hearts and our wounds and our stories
To the great story teller
That our lives may be
chiseled by His pen
That we may
BELIEVE
and LOVE
and PRAY
and FIGHT
and REST
and LIVE!
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