“Your Damage is NOT Beyond Repair!”

Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works…” (AMP) 

I’m always amazed by how we so quickly discard damaged things, and worse than that, damaged people. Reminds me of something I read recently that stated, “A reporter asked the couple, ‘how did you manage to stay together for 65 years?’ The woman replied, ‘we were born in a time when if something was broken we fix it, not throw it away.” Honestly, it is my prayer that we take on this same approach with all people. However, the sad truth is, we live in a time with such a hard-hearted people, that we are quick to discard marriages, children, family members, friends, even churches and believers, due to damage. We’re quick to divorce and find another spouse; or discard our children and give the religious lingo, ‘I’m just placing them in God’s hands’. We’re quick to stop speaking to family members and throw away 10, 20 and more years of friendship, over minutes of misunderstanding. And yet what bothers me most is that the we, the church, the believers, are given the ministry of reconciliation, yet we rather the ministry of ruins!
 
Maybe we should read (or for some of us, re-read) what the Bible has to say on this?

2 Corinthians 5:16-20, “Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a FRESH START, is created NEW. The old life is gone; a NEW life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and Him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with Himself through the Messiah, giving the world a FRESH START by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what He is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ Himself now: Become friends with God; He’s already a friend with you.” (MSG)
 
Just 2 things I want to point out here (although there is so much more): 

1) “…ANYONE UNITED WITH THE MESSIAH GETS A FRESH START…” In other words, you don’t get to pick who’s worthy or unworthy in your irrelevant, biased opinion; and 

2) “…THEN CALLED US TO SETTLE OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH EACH OTHER…” Isn’t it amazing that church folk love to talk about what God called them to do, but fail to ever mention this aspect of their CALLING? CALLED to settle our relationships, not discard them with yesterday’s trash! Just thought I’d add a Selah moment on those 2 points.

You see, it’s our job and responsibility to help people take their old ways to God so that He may make them new. However, our job and responsibility is NOT to fix them, judge them, shame or guilt them. We are NOT to ostracize them. We are NOT to be exclusive and disrespectful. We are called to help, aid, assist, and encourage. We are responsible for showing others how to receive a fresh start in God, NOT stop them from getting to Him by the way we treat their old nature, as if we don’t have one ourselves.

For example, I don’t condone homosexuality, because I believe in what my Bible says about it. BUT, does that mean I can’t witness to them? Can’t hold a conversation with them? After all, how do I share the Gospel with a people I can never come in contact with? The same goes for the alcoholic, the drug user, the pimp, the prostitute, the gang member, the unbeliever. How do I reach them, if I’m not allowed to reach them? We have to be very careful about our religiosity, it’s doing severe damage to an already damaged people. Many of whom, at one time or another, WE WERE JUST LIKE! Don’t get deep now, read your Bible: 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, “Don’t you realize that this is not the way to live? Unjust people who don’t care about God will not be joining in His kingdom. Those who use and abuse each other, use and abuse sex, use and abuse the earth and everything in it, don’t qualify as citizens in God’s kingdom. A NUMBER OF YOU KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT, FOR NOT SO LONG AGO YOU WERE ON THAT LIST. Since then, you’ve been cleaned up and given a FRESH START by Jesus, our Master, our Messiah, and by our God present in us, the Spirit.” (MSG)

Makes you wonder how is it possible for us to point our accusatory fingers at others and go down the list of their sins and wrongs, when our grocery list of sin and wrong matches theirs, if not longer? And if not now, it did at one time. And dare we tell the whole truth, even now, we still have a list! Yes, all of us! Believe it or not with your deep, anointed, called, gifted, powerful self, you still have a list! But what did God do for us? “…since then, you’ve been cleaned up and given a FRESH START…” That’s like telling someone they can’t have a bath even after you’ve already had a shower! Why do some get to be clean and not all? 

If you received your Renewal despite all your Issues, why do you keep attempting to Cancel theirs?
Listen, we’ve all messed up in one way or another. None of us are perfect or sinless (regardless to what we may think or the show-stopping appearance we may put on)! We’ve had bad attitudes, not always the purest of thoughts, mouth or heart. We’ve been judgmental, critical, rude, conceited, envious, jealous, bitter, resentful and vengeful! And yes, I’m talking about Saved Church Folks! So who are we to act as if someone else’s damage is beyond repair when some of us were worse off (and still are) than they? While you ponder that thought, listen to this…

It’s just a humble little house in the country, but it’s been a dream of Sandra’s for years. Actually, it was her grandparents’ house most of her life. She lived just down the road from them as a child and she spent many hours and made many memories in that little place. After Grandma and Granddad died, her dad owned the house. But by then he lived four hours away, so he just rented it out for years. It never was a great house but it really fell apart over the last few years; holes in the roof, fleas in the carpet, critters invading the house through its many holes, rotting wood and deterioration.

Sandra’s dream has been that someday she might be able to get her hands on that house she loved and make it into something. She got her chance. Her dad deeded the house to her and her sister and this past summer they teamed up to make it a neat little place in the country. She put on a full court press to get all those holes fixed, to replace things that were rotting or infested or worn out and she started to put her wonderful creative and beautifying touches to work to make it a special little spot.

Another friend who used to go by once in a while when it was still rented confided to her how he felt about the house, “This place was a dump. I thought it should be bulldozed.” Needless to say, he doesn’t think that way anymore. He was very impressed with what that dump had become.

All those years Sandra had been seeing that house deteriorate and she just kept waiting for a day when it might be hers and she could take what had become a mess and make it into something beautiful. What she did for a house, Jesus does for people’s lives. He certainly did it for mine, maybe now is the time you allow Him to do it for yours. Believe it or not, but I know what some of you will say right about now, “you don’t know how bad my damage is. You don’t know how big my mistakes and how far off track I’ve become. You don’t know the mess I’ve made of my life. You don’t know what I’ve drank, smoked, snorted, or shot in my arm…you don’t know the many wrong beds I’ve been in. You don’t know the financial disasters my bad decisions have made.” And you’re right, I don’t know, and don’t need to know. But what I do know, is what the Word of God declares. Jeremiah 18:1-4, “Jeremiah received the Lord’s word:  Go down to the potter’s house, and I’ll give you instructions about what to do there.  So I went down to the potter’s house; he was working on the potter’s wheel.  But the piece he was making was flawed while still in his hands, so the potter started on another, as seemed best to him.” (CEB) 

See, unlike us, the potter doesn’t throw away the clay because it becomes flawed, he simply reforms it. And so does God. Another version reads, “But the pot he was making of clay did not come out like he wanted it. So the pot-maker used the clay to make another pot that pleased him.” (vs. 4 NLV) 

Truth is, we’ve all had a moment in our lives when it “…did not come out like he wanted it…” Or like we’ve wanted it either. But the good news, is that our bad news, is nothing new to God! Did you pay attention to the Scripture? The clay became flawed…WHILE STILL IN HIS HANDS. I believe that’s a vital point that we miss when dealing with the lives of others. We forget while we’re pointing fingers, they are still in God’s hands! And with Jesus as the Carpenter, is their Temple really beyond repair? Absolutely not! John 10:25-30, “Jesus answered, “I told you, but you don’t believe. Everything I have done has been authorized by my Father, actions that speak louder than words. You don’t believe because you’re not my sheep. My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them real and eternal life. They are protected from the Destroyer for good. No one can steal them from out of my hand. The Father who put them under my care is so much greater than the Destroyer and Thief. No one could ever get them away from him. I and the Father are one heart and mind.” (MSG). 

There is always recovery for anything or anyone placed in the Masters Hands!

Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works, which God prepared [for us] beforehand [taking paths which He set], so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us].” (AMP) As bad as you think they are, or as bad as you think you are, you and they are still of Good Use to Our Good God! There’s always opportunity for change!

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if ANYONE is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life].” (AMP) In other words, NO ONE can judge ANYONE because ANYONE can be changed, renewed, reborn, restored, revived, and repaired!

And I’ve seen that same miracle take place so dramatically in human lives, when a life that was getting more and more damaged was finally turned over to Jesus Christ. And He has lovingly gone to work to repair what looked “unrepairable” and to fix what looked unfixable to forgive what seemed unforgivable and to make a person into a new creation.

It could be that you’re in the market now for a re-creation miracle of your own. Things have been under your management for a long time. And maybe from the outside things look pretty good because we’ve learned and mastered how to mask, cover, hide, and disguise. But inside, there’s a lot you’re tired of. You’re tired of ending up lonely, you’re tired of your dark side winning, maybe the anger has done enough damage, the selfishness, the habit you have never been able to shake.

It could be that over the years you’ve accumulated more stress and more pain than you can handle anymore. Or more guilt than you can deal with anymore. Whatever the damage that’s accumulated during the years when you’ve been running things, there is Someone who has loved you all along who’s been saying all these years, “If only you would let Me have your life. I could do with it what you’ve never been able to do.” Think about it. The Son of God promises to make you a new creation, the old you behind you, a new beginning before you. Who doesn’t want that?

Romans 6:1-5, “What shall we say [to all this]? Should we continue in sin and practice sin as a habit so that [God’s gift of] grace may increase and overflow?  Certainly not! How can we, the very ones who died to sin, continue to live in it any longer? Or are you ignorant of the fact that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We have therefore been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory and power of the Father, we too might WALK HABITUALLY IN NEWNESS OF LIFE [ABANDONING OUR OLD WAYS]. For if we have become one with Him [permanently united] in the likeness of His death, we will also certainly be [one with Him and share fully] in the likeness of His resurrection.” (AMP)

Today is the day you walk in the newness of life! Today is your day to begin again! Your old ways can’t block the new you! No matter how much damage you’ve caused to your life, God can make it look as though it never even happened!

1 John 1:8-10, “If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we’ve never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God—make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God.” (MSG). Did you read that? “…He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of ALL wrongdoing…” He holds nothing against us! He forgives and purges us of All! He’s not like us, he doesn’t look for little and big sins to weigh them out and see what He can let go of and forgive. No, He takes it ALL! In other words, YOUR DAMAGE IS NOT BEYOND REPAIR!

Psalm 103:6-18, “God makes everything come out right; he puts victims back on their feet. He showed Moses how he went about his work, opened up his plans to all Israel. God is sheer mercy and grace; not easily angered, he’s rich in love. He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold, nor hold grudges forever. HE DOESN’T TREAT US AS OUR SINS DESERVE, NOR PAY US BACK IN FULL FOR OUR WRONGS. As high as heaven is over the earth, so strong is his love to those who fear him. And as far as sunrise is from sunset, he has separated us from our sins.” (MSG). Once again, I reiterate, did you read that? “…HE DOESN’T TREAT US AS OUR SINS DESERVE, NOR PAY US BACK IN FULL FOR OUR WRONGS…” Again, unlike us, God doesn’t hold grudges! He forgives and frees! He restores and releases! If only we His children could exhibit the Father’s characteristics!

People of God, today is a good day to help someone out. Or in the words of Dr. Steve Maraboli, “How would your life be different if…you walked away from gossip and verbal defamation? Let today be the day…you speak only the good you know of other people and encourage others to do the same.”

No judging, no finger pointing, no gossip, rumors and the like. Just help.

I know their lives may be like the house in the above story, falling apart, messy, a complete eye-sore to look at. But you haven’t always looked like a million dollar mansion yourself. So take time today to reflect on what your temple ‘used’ to look like, and all the work God put in to rebuild and restore you to usefulness. And then show that same patience, kindness and love with others.

Lastly, in the story of the prodigal son the older brother focused all his attention on what the younger brother did while away from home. However, the father could only see that in-spite of what he did away from home, he still found his way back home. In other words, stop trying to find out what they did in sin, or what they did while they were away from church. Love them out of sin and love them back to church. Think about it, if God forgives their sin and removes it as far as the East is from the West, surely you should be able to mind your business between their house and yours. Selah…
 
We’re losing too many souls because of nosiness, pettiness, bad attitudes, unforgiveness, and the like. Instead today let us respond as the father of the prodigal son did. Embrace them, love on them, help them find their restoration and newness of life. Help them begin again. Show them where the restart button is, you know the button YOU push daily? 

Today let someone know that THEIR DAMAGE IS NOT BEYOND REPAIR! Let them know that you know just the right HANDYMAN that can make their old like new!

Isaiah 43:18-19, “Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something BRAND-NEW. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? There it is!…” (MSG)

“I have become convinced that God thoroughly enjoys fixing and saving things that are broken. That means that no matter how hurt and defeated you feel, no matter how badly you have been damaged, God can repair you. God can give anyone a second chance.” (Melody Carlson)

“Sometimes God lets you be in a situation that only He can fix so that you can see that He is the One who fixes it. Rest. He’s got it.” (Tony Evans)

“When the Japanese mend broken objects, they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks with gold. They believe that when something’s suffered damage and has a history, it becomes more beautiful.” (Billie Mobayed)

Much Love, Dr.Shermaine #HealthyBodySoulAndSpirit

"It's Not Selfish to Love Yourself, Take Care of Yourself and to Make Your Happiness a Priority. It's a Necessity." (Mandy Hale)

"Self-Care is Not Selfish. You Cannot Serve From an Empty Vessel." (Eleanor Brown)

“I’m in the Process of Change!”

2 Corinthians 5:17, “So stop evaluating Christians by what the world thinks about them or by what they seem to be like on the OUTSIDE. Once I mistakenly thought of Christ that way, merely as a human being like myself. How differently I feel now! When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person INSIDE. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!” (TLB)

As much as I love the animal kingdom, and as much as I’ve written about it, there is yet one little critter that makes my skin crawl every single time I see one. And which animal is that? Well, it’s the Caterpillar! Yuck! Now, maybe it’s just me, but I think they’re the most ugly little creatures ever! I hope none are listening. Honestly, I don't mean to be so critical, but let's face it; those hairy crawlers are not the beauty queens of the animal kingdom!  

But who could ever imagine that one of the uglier critters around could actually become one of the most beautiful animals in the world - a Butterfly!  

Think about it: You don't see many pictures of caterpillars on things, but you see pictures of butterflies everywhere! A critter covered with ugly black hair becomes a beautiful butterfly splashed with these amazing colors. An animal that lives off the leaves on the ground becomes the connoisseur of flower nectar. And a creature that once crawled everywhere becomes one that can fly everywhere. Funny thing is, the caterpillar doesn’t need anyone to give it a makeover, it gives one to itself, in the Process of Change.

The Creator who so miraculously transforms caterpillars, does something far more amazing. He does it for people like you and me as well. He did it for Victor!

Victor is an intelligent, hilarious, kind, handsome, successful guy with a fatal flaw - Alcohol. He'd been hooked since he was 12 years old, and no one could get him unhooked...including himself. His addiction eventually cost him his job, his relationship with his family, even his freedom, landing him in prison for a while. He was, in essence, crawling through life on a caterpillar level because of something inside him he could not change. 

So, one night Victor decided to die. He was on his way to a secluded area in the park to end his life…when he saw a man throwing bread crumbs on the ground. It seemed odd to Victor that this late at night an elderly man would be in a secluded area in the park alone leaving bread crumbs on the ground for birds that were obviously tucked away in their nests fast asleep (exactly where this old dude should be, Victor thought). With his curiosity getting the best of him, he slowly approached the man and asked him if we was okay. The man responded that he was better than okay, he was doing absolutely wonderful (since his doctor gave him a clean bill of health just that morning). Yet, Victor’s curiosity refused to let him walk away. He asked the man why would an otherwise healthy, elderly man be in a secluded park at night by himself feeding birds that weren’t even there? The man’s response literally saved Victor’s life. He said he’s been coming to that same spot, every year, for the past 20 years to celebrate his anniversary. Victor immediately assumed the man meant that he was married and obviously now a widow, and this spot must have meant something special to his wife. But as most old people do, he immediately read Victor’s thoughts and responded: 

“20 years ago, this very day, I sat on this bench with a loaded gun in my hand ready to die. My marriage was falling apart, I couldn’t find a job, money had dried up, I was drunk so regularly that I didn’t know when it was day or night. I was deeply depressed, but figured if nothing else, my wife could get money from my life insurance policy. So, in essence, I’m helping her the best way I can, so she can take better care of our kids. And as absent as I’d become to my children’s lives and as much as me and wife were fighting, I didn’t think anyone would miss me anyway.” 

Victor was rendered speechless. The old man continued: 

“When I looked to the right of me, there was an open loaf of bread and just a few birds around me. I put the gun down and picked up the loaf of bread. I dropped little crumbs and the more I dropped the more birds came. Some were on the ground, some on the bench. But there was one that sat right next me and no matter how many times I moved it never startled him, he didn’t budge. Right in that moment I remembered a Scripture my mother would always quote when I was growing up. You see it was me and my 3 brothers and only my mother. My father left us many years ago. But every single time we would get to the point of just a penny and a pea (as mother would say it), she would always tell us, ‘don’t worry and don’t cry, if God can take care of birds, and we’re more important to Him than they are, He will take care of us. As long as you still see birds, God is still providing and protecting. Birds are a sign of God’s promise to always take care of His own.” 

The man then told Victor he finished feeding the birds and went home. Then he added: 

“In case you’re wondering, I got a job, restored my relationship with my children, rebuilt my marriage from the ground up, and my best days are still ahead of me. And so are yours. Now, I’m old and tired, and my wife will call the cops (again) if I don’t hurry back to bed. Here, why don’t you take the rest of these bread crumbs and finish feeding my friends while you think twice about what you were going to do when you came here.” 

Victor responded, feed what birds?…but as soon as the words were off his lips and he turned around, a whole host of feathery friends were waiting for him to stop holding up the dinner line! From that night on, Victor never touched a drop of alcohol again. The very night he was planning to die, God sent him a buddy, a bird and some bread crumbs (now that’ll preach…lol!)

I’ll never forget the smile on his face in telling his story, and I think as he’s ministered all over the globe, he still tells his story today as though it happened just yesterday, and still he smiles as he tells it. 

I share Victor’s story because he was on a caterpillar’s level. He was on the ground, crawling through the filth, in danger of being stepped on at any moment, by any one. He was low, depressed, struggling, and at the point where he just wanted to throw in the towel and give up. He was battling something on the inside, that showed up on the outside. He was raised in church, knew God, knew His Word, sang on the choir, ushered, served food at the shelters, and still that did not allow him to be exempt from flesh and spirit battles from within. 

Victor reminds me a lot of the Apostle Paul: Romans 7:17-25, “But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.” (MSG)

That was Victor to the letter. Everything in him knew what to do, and even wanted to do it, but somehow, someway, his flesh kept winning the battle…until he stepped into the Process of Change.

Now, while your struggles with your own darkness may be different from Victor’s, the same kind of change can happen to you. It's described in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life]” (AMP)

Victor dedicates himself to telling as many people as possible about the life-changing miracle that only Jesus could accomplish. A spiritual transformation that has affected generations in his family, with his spouse, children, grandchildren, in-laws…and the list goes on. He transformed from that crawling caterpillar, but it didn’t happen overnight. Just as a caterpillar changes in stages, so did Victor, but he remained committed to the process of change. He believed wholeheartedly that he could be reborn and renewed, he believed that his old man had died, and there was now a brand new man standing before the world. Nothing from the past mattered, he didn’t hold it over his own head. He moved forward in his new transformation, staying focused on the book of Romans for months on end.

Romans 12:1-2, “Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship. And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].” (AMP)

Now, that’s what you call Transformation! That's what Jesus does. He transforms you, renews you, changes you, and matures you. He did it for Victor, he did it for me, and He is still willing and able to do it for you!

Listen, we all fight our own monsters inside us-the sinful, hurtful, even shameful urges, attitudes and actions that we've never been able to conquer. And even being religious or spiritual, even our best efforts at self-improvement have only turned out to be an unsuccessful makeover for a caterpillar.

See, Jesus died on the cross to pay for the sin that enslaves you, and now He offers to begin transforming you from the inside out if you'll invite Him to be your Savior. If you have never begun this life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ, today is the best day to start something new, so you can be transformed into someone new! And just in case you’re under the impression that you’re worse off than the rest of us, so it can’t be done for you, listen to this:

1 Corinthians 6:9-11, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate [by perversion], nor those who participate in homosexuality,  nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers [whose words are used as weapons to abuse, insult, humiliate, intimidate, or slander], nor swindlers will inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God.  AND SUCH WERE SOME OF YOU [BEFORE YOU BELIEVED]. But you were washed [by the atoning sacrifice of Christ], you were sanctified [set apart for God, and made holy], you were justified [declared free of guilt] in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the [Holy] Spirit of our God [the source of the believer’s new life and changed behavior].” (AMP)

You see, none of us can point any sinless fingers at anyone’s sin, because we all have dirty hands! So, if you think you’re worse than the next person, I assure you, we’re all sitting on the same boat (just with different colored life jackets!) We all have a story about our creepy, crawling days and ways! None of us were born flapping our beautifully colored wings, and soaring high above it all! Nope! As much as I hate to admit it, we were all unattractive, creepy, crawling caterpillars! Which is why God’s transforming power of change is such a beautiful miracle! He didn’t kill us where He caught us; He didn’t leave us where He found us. No, He gave us the opportunity to change! And didn’t require that we do so overnight! Caterpillars change in time, and in stages, and so do we. 

We can reform ourselves, but only God can transform us. “Reform” is defined as “to make changes in something in order to improve; cause to abandon an immoral or criminal lifestyle; the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, or unsatisfactory; to correct faults, problems.” Its’ Latin Origin “reformare” literally means “to form or shape again.” But “Transform” is defined as “to change something completely; to change in composition, structure and nature; to transfigure; convert; redefine; redesign; metamorphose.” And that word “Metamorphose” is defined as “to change in an important and obvious way into something that is very different; to undergo metamorphosis; to change into a different physical form especially by supernatural means”.

That’s the wonderful thing about our God, He shares partnership with us in our lives. We do our part and He does His. We can reform, but only He can transform!

Sisters, truth is, no matter how beautiful we are, we all have some caterpillar ways about us. Today, God is giving all of us an opportunity to step into the process of change. Change in our behavior, habits, addictions, attitude, speech, thoughts, heart, actions, and the like. We’ve been crawling around in these dirty ways long enough. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for change. I’m ready to be and do better. I’m ready to get rid of the striped, spotted, puke green, black-haired caterpillar looks and ways! But know this, it takes time and stages to change. 

All butterflies have “complete metamorphosis.” To grow into an adult they go through 4 stages: Egg, Larva, Pupa, and Adult. Depending on the type of butterfly, the life cycle of a butterfly may take anywhere from one month to a whole year. In other words, you need to decide you’re ready to start your change today, and then commit to completing it, knowing that it will not be an overnight process. It takes time for the caterpillar, it took time for Victor and for myself, and it will take time for you. But it will be so worth it to earn those beautiful wings and soar!

Lastly, just as patient as you want others to be with you during your process, give to them what you would want to receive for yourself. Know that sometimes people you meet are in their caterpillar phase (they’re crawling, low, sometimes moody and depressed, they’re battling with addictions, heartbreak, mental, physical, emotional, financial, social and even spiritual struggles). Be patient! Be kind. Be understanding. Be supportive. Be there. And then you will also come into contact with those who are somewhere between the four stages of metamorphosis. Give them the same time and patience you desire for yourself. No one is beyond help, reach or the ability to change…not you…not them.

So today, start your process of change, knowing that as you change and save your life, you may also unknowingly change and save someone else’s life in the process! Be Encouraged!

Much Love, Dr. Shermaine

"It's Not Selfish to Love Yourself, Take Care of Yourself and to Make Your Happiness a Priority. It's a Necessity." (Mandy Hale)

"Self-Care is Not Selfish. You Cannot Serve From an Empty Vessel." (Eleanor Brown)