By EMILY HUNT
I was 13 years old when I gave my life to Christ and accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I had gotten pretty involved with the youth group at my church. I had friends at church — friends I enjoyed seeing at youth group and choir. Friends that I looked up to and admired for their faith and relationship with God.
Our friendships grew closer on church trips and camps, Sunday school and Vacation Bible School. So one Wednesday night when the pastor called for the invitation during a revival service and my friends were walking forward, I did too.
I was excited in my decision and continued growing in the church and my relationship with God. But soon feelings of doubt began to overtake me. Not in God. Not in His abilities, but in mine. My own insecurities started to make me question, was I good enough? Was I faithful enough? Was I Christian enough?
I didn’t feel like it.
That feeling continued over the years. That feeling of inadequacy. That feeling of not being good enough for God. Not being worthy of His love and faithfulness. Not being perfect.
I would look around and see people that I felt were more Christian than I was. They were more deserving. They were the right kind of follower, and I just wasn’t Christian enough.
I think as mothers and parents, we can relate to that feeling of not being good enough. That fear of not being able to serve and provide for our children like other mothers are providing for theirs. We look at other mothers, wives, friends and Christians and say, “They are better with this or better with that.” We tell ourselves that we are not enough. We are not enough of a parent. We are not enough of a spouse. We are not enough of a Christian.
But then God shows us over and over again that He is righteous. We don’t have to be Christian enough to receive His blessings. We just have to believe.
“Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God.” – 2 Corinthians 3:5.
Even though there have been many times I haven’t felt Christian enough, God continues to show me that I don’t have to be enough, because He is. He is more than enough. He is there and I am worthy. I am worthy of His love. I am worthy of His guidance. I am worthy of His never-ending promises to me.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.” – Romans 3:23-25.
God is always there. He has shown Himself to me time and time again through the most trying and uncertain times of my life. So many times I’ve felt His presence and seen His blessings even though I fall short every single day.
But every day He continues to show me that I am Christian enough. I am loved and I am worthy. I am deserving, and so are you.
Emily Hunt is the founder of Magnolia Moms, a contributor blog sharing advice on raising traditional families in a modern world. Emily’s passion for encouraging women and mothers is what drove her to start Magnolia Moms as a place for them to feel safe to share their trials and tribulations, as well as successes, with other likeminded women. Emily is a wife and mom of two girls, 7 and 9 years old. She and her family live in Madison. Emily and her husband have a digital media company, Hunt Media Group, LLC that keeps them busy, but never too busy for weekend adventures with their girls.