be a Maggie

 I've long had insecurity issues. From the outside it may not always look like it, but inside I'm asking, "Who wants to talk to me? What should I say? Do they really want me here, or am I just a presence they put up with?" Several years ago God was doing a good work in me of reminding me of who he says I am.  I felt more self-confidence to enter social and cultural situations and be myself. But pieces of that were stolen from me in the past year or two and I'm finally starting to reconnect with it again.

As I was going through a study over the past months with a small group, God drew my attention to Maggie. Maggie loves people. Well, she loves adults - she's a little uncertain about little people. :) But with adults, she uninhibitedly approaches them with a joyful trot and wagging tail, expecting that she'll be appreciated. Anyone who has met Maggie can vouch for this. The adult has the choice to receive what she offers (her joy and affection) or not. And if not, Maggie is unconcerned. She simply walks away, looking for the next person who might appreciate what she's offering. 

Hear me, I'm not judging those of you who don't appreciate Maggie or dogs in general - I get it. I'm not really a dog person. Only a Maggie person 😄 But this attitude inspires me right now. What if I truly believe that God has created me with something to offer others? What if I approach situations not from a self-focus of "am I wanted?", but at least start with believing that maybe I AM wanted? What if I enter not questioning God's image in me, but with the confidence that God sees what is in me and delights in the blessing it will be to those who want to see it? How would I feel and how would it impact others to come in not seeking to be accepted, but knowing that what the other thinks doesn't ultimately matter? That God has put something in me (and in each of us) that will draw other people in if I let his unique image in me flow out naturally.

Maggie doesn't have these inhibitions. I love the way she is extravagantly excited to see others and assumes that she'll be wanted. Undoubtably she's more of an extrovert than I am. But extrovert or not, I can still enter any situation with the same attitude of trusting God's image in me. Not in pride, but in awe and honor to carry that image. There is a remarkable freedom in this posture and Maggie is my inspiration. 

Be a Maggie. There's something in each one of us to offer.