Mela Kamin – 4:10 Ministries

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My cousin Amy recently invited me to join her church’s teen girls’ “Free to Be Me” retreat. The gathering was based on the popular Francesca Battistelli song of the same name. Great song, great truth.
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Amy’s husband, Jason is a dynamic Pastor in a small, rural community and they are a tight-knit church family. They are involved in plenty of camps, but this was their first teen retreat, just for girls, at the church itself – Friday to Sunday.
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I was able to share my perspective, some of my story – even the broken pieces – and perform a concert after the emotion-filled day. Tiffany Thompson of Life Promotions, a funny, adorable, powerful, passionate speaker was also there. She spoke into these girls’ and women’s lives, including my own. She has a mighty story to tell and we were all moved by her candidness, humor and Biblical insight. I’ll be seeing her again in June and I can. not. wait. I’m hoping she gets her book published soon – it will be A-MAZING.
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I went into the weekend with a plan of what I was going to share. I wanted to impart some wisdom, to make an impact, to help build them up. I wished to be an encourager, but how do you tell girls to ignore society’s idea of perfection, when you struggle with this very issue yourself?
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. . . by telling them I struggle.
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Most days, I know the Truth and receive it, but as Tiffany shared, those “lizard lies” keep cropping up and creeping in, trying to shake us. I wanted to tell the girls it gets easier. I wanted to be able to show them how to avoid the mistakes I made. I so wanted to save them from the hurt, despair and emptiness.
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But I can’t – those things will come from living – simply living in this sinful world will bring pain.
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But God says . . .
There is hope and grace.
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And I can encourage these young, fresh hearts/eyes/ears/minds to receive that and use God’s Word the way He intended

• as a shield to keep attacks from hitting too hard
• as a comforter to wrap up in when life is too much
• as a magnet to pull in goodness, mercy, light and love from the world around them
• as a stepping stone to stand on and see the world through God’s eyes
• as a megaphone to drown out the lizard lies they will be told

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The girls were so open and honest. They shared some of the hurt places in their hearts and the lies they often believe.
What struck me was their confidence in who they are – they walked and talked with such self-awareness – something I didn’t at their age. That, in itself, is a gift and one that will serve them well.
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I pray for them to discover & share their gifts – not big, money-making traits – but the God qualities they each possess – as Tiffany said, “the invisible stuff no one can see are the ways in which we are most like God” – characteristics like compassion, kindness, love, forgiveness and mercy.
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I want them to learn to recognize each others’ strengths and to point them out – together they make up an awesome team of Godly girls.
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What I hope they took away, is that through Christ’s great sacrifice, they have complete freedom from the lies that we are defined by society and unworthy of love. They have freedom to be who God created them to be – zits, curves, braces, brokenness, scars and all.
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Galatians 5: It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.