​Said the 6th grader on the playground, as she was showing off her new shoes to the clique.
I remember like it was yesterday. I was so excited to tell everyone I had gotten new shoes for my birthday. My mom had saved up and got them for me.
She worked 2 jobs plus taking care of us, so I knew it was a very special gift.
When I got to school, I couldn’t wait to show my best friend my birthday gift!  As my mom dropped me off, I noticed a group of girls by the locker room. 
I wondered what was going on, so I ran as fast as I could to get the 911.
 My best friend came up to me and asked “Did you see Heather’s new shoes?” I was like, um nope but now I HAD to see what all the fuss was about.
Before I could finish my sentence, I turned around there she was. Looking straight at me she said “Chris, check out my new shoes, aren’t they awesome?”
 As I looked down, there they were, the coolest pair of moccasin boots I had ever seen. (This was in the 80’s so stay with me)

I couldn’t say a word, I was just mesmerized at how beautiful they were. “My dad bought them, she said, he had them specially ordered from a magazine” - For a hot minute I forgot I had new shoes too. But when I had come to my senses, I noticed I started to feel ashamed and stepped away from the crowd of girls.

My best friend followed me and said, “Man I wish I had her shoes”, I thought the same thing, but I didn’t want to say it out loud.  I looked down at my brand-new penny loafers that my mom had bought at      K-Mart. She had put them on layaway because she had to make payments.  They weren’t real leather either. I had found the shiniest penny to put in the slot, but even then, I didn’t think my gift measured up to Heather’s gift.

I tried not to get jealous, but the more I kept hearing about how lucky she was and how everyone wished their dad would do that for them... the angrier and more jealous I became.  
I mean, how could I enjoy my penny loafers while she had expensive Moccasin boots?
That was back in the early 80’s but its funny how this same story is still happening today…. right now,…. in CHURCHES across America.

We are still jealous of each other’s gifts. It doesn’t matter that we’re supposed to use our individual gifts to help others OR that we are all given different gifts, but part of the same body. We still get jealous because "she has a better gift than me".
 
 You see, being jealous of someone else’s gift, doesn’t allow you to naturally flow in yours.  If I had been secure in who I was, then it wouldn’t have mattered how much her gift cost.

If you’re too busy crying over someone else’s new boots, you’re not walking in your very special penny loafers!  

We found out later that Heather's dad was in the shoe business, so he got free shoes all the time.  Meanwhile, my mom worked hard to make sure I got the desire of my heart because I had wanted these penny loafers for a good minute.

​When there’s a sacrifice, you tend to take care of what was given to you. When there’s no work behind it, you can take it for granted.

Then finally, I couldn’t see what my gift was worth because I was focused on the price tag. When Heather told us how much those boots cost, I thought my penny loafers were cheap. But I was looking at it all wrong.

You see, it wasn’t about the price tag, it was about the gift giver.
Too many times we tell God, we don’t like the gift HE gave us.

 Romans 12:4 -8 tells us:
For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,  so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.
If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
 
Today, we need to look at the gift giver and stop being jealous of what someone else has.
Flow in YOUR gift. Shine in your talent for the Lord. Stop comparing what “she does” to what you do, its NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THE SAME!
In order to flow in the Spirit, you must let go of pride. And to let go of pride, you must die to self. To die to self, you must see past you. To see past you, you must know what price was paid for you. And in order to see what price was paid for you… you need to look to the GIFT GIVER!
 
So come on girl, put on your favorite pair of shoes……aaaaand
WALK IT OUT!

Its time to get set free from the bond of Jealousy and start using the gifts God gave you.
 
~Broken Beautiful Ministries

When I was a little girl, I loved hanging around all the adults. Kid conversations weren't as fun as what the grownups were talking about. However, if my mom was in the middle of a conversation with someone and I interrupted, she always reminded me to wait until they were done talking.
 To a 6-year-old, waiting for several minutes always felt like several hours. Why did I have to wait? Doesn't my mom realize what I have to say is IMPORTANT?

Now, many years later, I've realized that waiting to speak isn't just about being polite. 

Don’t get me wrong, it is OK talk. But there will come a time when God has you in a Hush Season. 

Anyone who knows me, knows I have the gift of gab. I know, it doesn't sound like a gift, but it truly is if geared in the right direction.
 When I was in middle school, this beautiful gift was used so much that I was named the “detention queen” by my assistant principal. It wasn't because I was causing trouble. It wasn't  even because I wasn't doing my work. It was because when I finished my work, I turned around and started talking to people around me.
Little did I know what my assistant principal called a "nuisance to the class", would one day become the weapon that God uses to help others. 

There's a difference between your voice being silenced and your "Hush" season. 

For years I wasn't allowed to speak because my voice was silenced with fear, condemnation or shame. 
I was always afraid of saying the wrong thing because I didn't want to sit through a 2 hour lecture of how I didn't know my place.
I didn't dare have a difference of opinion because I was the one who was wrong.
 So, it got to the point that just did what I was told to do while screaming on the inside in hopes that someone would hear me; but they never did.  

When we can't speak about the hurt, we are going through, it comes out in different ways.
We wallow in self-pity and love when people pet our troubles. We talk out of turn not giving others a chance to speak. We constantly correct people when we should just be listening. We always make the conversation about us.
We purposely choose bad behavior so it will get noticed.  We talk in circles. And finally, we talk so much that we interrupt others.
 These actions are screaming: LISTEN TO ME!!!  This comes from being forcefully silenced.
 So, what makes me an expert on all these things? Well because I was this person.

Your Hush Season is totally different.
Although silence and Hush have the same meaning they act as two different action verbs (at least for me)  
God brought me to a Hush season because I had to shut out all the noise and only hear HIM. In my Hush Season, God brought me through the valley so he could whisper that there was a mountain top awaiting me. I had to start listening to that still small voice instead my own toxic thoughts. I started listening to the voice of God instead of just hearing the messages.

When you don't have anyone  to listen to your meaningless conversations, your complaining about your horrible life (that you won't change), your job, your lack of a job, your worthless friends, your too many friends, what you're going to do this weekend or what you're not going to do because your too broke to enjoy your life, etc. 
Do you get what I am saying? 

When God asks you to Hush...its not because He is forcing you to be silent, it is so you can truly listen to what He has to say to you.

It’s hard because I still feel like the 6-year-old girl trying to CRAM my whole conversation with God so I can go about my business.

Yet... He keeps asking me to Hush.

He is not trying to steal my voice or  bring me shame. He is trying to speak to this season of my life.

Many of you today, have been in the place where your voice was never heard.

Maybe your mom abandoned you. Maybe your dad didn't care to hear about what was going on in your life. Maybe your husband/wife is making you feel less than but you’re too afraid to tell them because it will turn into another fight. 

Whatever it is, all these things have stolen your voice.

But God.

God wants to bring you into a Hush season so you can hear what He has to say about your situation. I am slowly at the end of my Hush season and I have learned a lot.

I learned that in order to be a good listener, you must first learn to listen. Sounds simple but it wasn't for me. I had my opinion and my words had to be heard. 

Now, I just HUSH because in order to know where I am going, I must listen to my GPS (Gods Positioning System) in my life.

Today if you need to be free from the cage of silence, you also may go through a Hush Season. Its OK to be silent with God.
​Its His way of leading you out of the wilderness and into His promised land with authority and power.
 
Don’t ever lose your voice, just allow God to show you how to use it.
 

Broken Beautiful Ministries