Reflections

Reflections is a weekly meme hosted by Kristin of A Simply Enchanted Life and Fizzy of Fizzy Pop Collection. Every Sunday we will dig deeper in our recent reads to explore the real-life lessons within the pages. Reading the book yourself is not necessary to participate. If you would like to host your own reflection, you’re welcome to copy and paste this introduction, with the link to our pages. You may use our current or prior reflections or come up with your own.

In ‘Like Moonlight at Low Tide’ by Nicole Quigley, the main character Melissa struggles with finding her place in the hierarchy that is high school. Having been bullied through middle school, Melissa and her family moved away. Moving back several years later she had concerns about returning and trying to recreate an identity. In all that happens at school and in her family upon her return, she carries a lot of regret and self-doubt. Befriending the ‘boy next door’ who slowly introduces her to the idea of faith and takes her to church, Melissa feels that becoming a Christian would be ‘too convenient’ and too easy to erase the regret she carries. Have you ever felt like you could never be good or pure enough? How did you deal with those feelings?

I grew up with someone who was verbally abusive. So, I have often felt that I could never measure up or be good enough. For God or for anyone else. In fact, those feelings made it hard for me to trust anyone and it did keep me from accepting Christ until I was an adult.

For me, I had to accept that I couldn’t be good or pure enough for God. Everyone else doesn’t even matter. I know, that almost sounds like I gave up and accepted that I’m a horrible person. Nothing could be further from the truth—I know that I’m not a horrible person.

But, next to a perfect and holy God, I really couldn’t be as pure as I needed to be. No one can be. I am pure in Christ and Him alone. I don’t have to be ‘good enough’ for anyone else. I only need to be good enough for Christ and since I’m an imperfect person, I have to rely on his paying for my sin. By accepting Christ, the Father sees only the blood of Jesus and not my imperfect ways. My hope is in Him and in Him, I place my feelings of inadequacy and failure.

Perhaps you came here wanting a self-help and some answer that I have found somewhere in the recesses of my human mind. But there is no other for me. Without Him, I am nothing. With Him, I am the daughter of a king.

Part of recovering from self doubt and feelings of inadequacy is to accept that we are in fact, not good enough. We just have give it all to God. Because He IS good enough and by giving our hearts to Him, He covers us in His goodness.