Under Pressure
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Photography by Madi Flournoy Henderson || Dress: Nordstorm
This dress has been the dress of the summer for me. After seeing Brighton Keller wearing it, I rushed to Nordstrom to grab one for myself. It’s the perfect “for everything you are doing” type of dress. I have worn this dress so much that I’ve begun to question whether I even owned any summer dresses before this one. Has that ever happened to you? You buy a new shirt and suddenly you have only that shirt to wear and nothing else. Like, what did I ever wear before this?
With summer coming to a close, however, I am 100% feeling the pressure of the fall. I get this way every year when a new batch of students roll into my classroom. I began to feel this crazy desire to become perfect. Yes, the PERFECT teacher. The PERFECT friend. The PERFECT wife. The PERFECT everything. And it is pressure that is totally and completely created in my head. Thankfully, it doesn’t last very long because I slowly realize that I will never be perfect at all those things – no one could; but the thoughts still creep in nonetheless. Every August, I just have to remind myself to ignore this self-made pressure. It works momentarily… at least until the next week when I have to do it all over again. Anyone else know what I’m talking about?
Most of the time the “pressure” we feel from others is something we create in our own minds. It isn’t really as strong as we THINK. But if we are not careful, the “pressure” can start to control more than just our desire to be the best. It can control our everyday thinking, molding us into a person who craves acceptance from other people and not from God.
In Lysa TerKeurst newest book, Uninvited, she writes “to satisfy this longing we will either be graspers of God’s love or grabbers for people’s love. . . . If we live rooted and established in His love, we don’t just have knowledge of His love in our minds, but it becomes a reality that anchors us.”
First. Y’all, this book. It is so good. Second. I want so badly to become a person who can see the difference between grasping for people’s love and grasping for God’s love. I want to live rooted in His love in such a way that I will be able to see when I’m making something a bigger deal than it really is. And I want that for you, too. I want you to work to please Him and not the girl who seems to have it all together. He created you perfect in His eyes. And He is all you need.
