January 29, 2019

I’ve been in one beauty pageant in my life (go ahead and note now that this is 100% Jordan writing) It was the University of South Carolina pageant and after going through what felt like 97 rounds of nominations, applications and interviews, the pageant arrived. Yours truly was a wreck (turns out this kind of thing is not for the faint of heart.) I remember holding the hands of the other four girls who stood at the end and smiling as I was inwardly freaking out. I could have peed my pants. (#didi?) Needless to say, momma came in 1st runner up. I’d like to tell you I was overwhelmed with joy. Ecstatic. Proud. BUT- Don’t forget- I’m just now a recovering perfectionist. At 21, I was knee deep in a need to be the best; to always win. I actually loved the winner. I can’t remember her name but she was kind, really smart and she knew sign language. I mean- she was the full package. I understood the reasoning behind her being the winner and yet- her success somehow belittled my own. Hence- I now introduce to you the scarcity versus abundance mentality. Meet 21 year old J. She was a firm believer in scarcity. More for them means less for me. My whole mindset was simple- success and worthiness were limited resources. When someone else had them, there was a direct threat to my own. What an awful way to live. Praise God, time changes all. I no longer wear Cotton gauchos and I no longer live under this scarcity thumb. I dive into God’s abundance mentality and I’m overwhelmed by the way His love is always enough. I love safely and securely in the way He blesses and provides and sees me. I celebrate another’s success because I recognize that HERS doesn’t hurt MINE. It’s about Him and His abundance. His inability to define us as not enough BUT as more than. Isn’t that awesome? Let’s take the time to celebrate each other-To recognize the exact need for all of our brands of beautiful and to define ourselves in light of the abundance God has provided. Let us recognize that each of us plays a role in His kingdom and its the exact combination we provide that makes the whole thing mold into His perfect plan. Celebrate this- There isn’t always more- but with God’s love- there is!
xoxo,
The Girls of Charley's

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