The last time we went skiing, the message of a ski jacket appealed to me. It were only six letters, the name of a company: dare2b.
Dare to be. Dare to be yourself. To be real. To be here.
God is the who I am. And when I introduce myself, I may put a part of his name before mine: I am Julia.
He put me into this world, and I can be there and take my place.
A few years ago, I had a formative encounter with an unknown old man while shopping in the supermarket. I parked my shopping cart on the opposite side to pick up some fruit, but there happened to be a lot of people right there at the same time. I didn't really know where to put myself and the shopping cart. I changed the position of the shopping cart repeatedly because it was in the way of other customers. Then I said to the bystanders with a laugh: "No matter where I stand, I'm always in anyone's way." An old little man looked at me. "You, young lady, urgently need to work on your attitude!" Like a prophet, he admonished me before he returned to his shopping. I was perplexed, but his loving rebuke hasn't let me go since. And it helped. How often do I dodge other people, make room, apologize. But I can be there! I have a right to take up space and it's okay if others have to wait until I'm done. We may have been miseducated. Especially as a child, we were not allowed to stand in anyone's way and have to make room for adults quickly. At least that's how I felt. But then we learned it wrong! Everyone has a right to dignity and respect. And it is the children who are important. Jesus worked on my self-confidence and freed me from fear. Now I know how much he loves me and that he gives me space to be as I am. That he loves me and covers my back. That is a good thing.
I used to think that a Christian must be humble and small. But now I am glad that Jesus wants us to shine and that we should not hide our light. I want to stand free and upright before God and the world. Loved and safe. Bright.
This quote from Nelson Mandela is written on one of the signs on a contemplation trail in the woods near our place:
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
Jesus says in Matthew 5 vers 14:
"You´re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We´re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don´t think I´m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I´m puting you on a light stand. Now that I´ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand - shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you´ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven."