“She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future”
What if STRENGTH & DIGNITY were two words we actually strived to be like. Not just in real life, but also on social media. I know speaking for myself I so often pretend I have it all together. I want to portray in life and online that I am strong, but if I am being honest I am really weak. It is important to remember we need other people to help us and most importantly we need Jesus.
This was evident to me a couple weeks ago when I went for a late night run. I was running, feeling strong, and suddenly I tripped and fell to the ground. Without hesitation I immediately got up. But for the rest of my run I was still haunted by that feeling of falling down. How could I feel so strong one second and the next second be on the ground with a scraped hand and knee? In the following days I had to explain to people how I got my bruises. I felt weak and defeated saying I got these cuts and bruises from merely tripping over an uneven sidewalk while running. This is just a simple example how we can feel so strong in life but one little trip can cause us to see that maybe we are more weak and delicate than we thought we were. It is a good reminder that the world's definition of STRENGTH isn't the STRENGTH we should strive for. STRENGTH can come from being weak. In the falling, I found motivation to get right back up and run harder. Falling does not make you weak it makes you strong.
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in the weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
If you asked a room full of people what does STRENGTH mean to them each person would give an entirely different answer. To one person STRENGTH can mean holding back those tears when they desperately want to cry. To another STRENGTH means expressing their emotions and being vulnerable. Showing your weaknesses may just be where you find your STRENGTH. So why then can it be so difficult for me to share my weaknesses with my friends, family, and social media?
As much as I love social media I sometimes find myself questioning where my DIGNITY is coming from. I refuse to be molded by society into believing my DIGNITY comes from something other than God, for example how many followers or likes I have. It can be very difficult not to get caught in this toxic trap where the more followers and likes I get the more I start to feel worthy and of actual value. This is why somedays I need to step away from social media and get into God's word which shows me where my real worth comes from.
We need to remember most of the things we are looking at on social media are coming through a distorted lens. Which in return makes us question our own dignity. For example as I was editing these photos I noticed in some of them you can still see the bruise on my knee from when I fell down while I was running. My first thought was how do I alter the image so nobody can see my bruise? Instead of embracing my bruise I just wanted to hide it. Society pressures us to cover any sign of flaw, but I am thankful that my DIGNITY does not come from being perfect but in knowing who I am in Christ.
My STRENGTH & DIGNITY shirt is from Clothed in Strength. Make sure to visit their etsy shop here