#PreApproved Writer of the Week: Sheila Dailie
#PreApproved Sisterhood Series
Every Tuesday night, one of our PreApproved sisters shares her story with us on letting go of a love idol.
Together, we’re giving up our love idols, and we’re not taking them back.
We are already approved; we have nothing to prove. In Christ, we are #preapproved.
Satisfied with PreApproval
Sheila Dailie
Over the past year, I have absorbed, mulled over, identified with posts by lovely women who look “together,” love Jesus, and write clearly about their lives.
That is until Jennifer Lee challenged us by her own admission to the need for approval, her “Love Idol.”
She hit a nerve, raw, ragged, partially healed over, but oozing.
And it scares me a little — no, a LOT — to look at my own scabbed-over, “need-for-approval” wound.
This idol goes deep.
As I thought about how to tell my story, I reflected: the wounds of being the last one picked for the softball teams, the pain of playing with the “dirty welfare kids” at recess because the other girls all ran off and hid, being the brunt of jokes about strict parents.
The scars continued to receive new blows; not being asked to our high school prom, no invitations to the popular girls’ birthday celebrations, not even an invitation to a movie, either by a guy or girl.
Even my strengths became places for the battering ram of disapproval: being teased for getting good grades, snickers from choir members when a wrong note sounded in my piano accompaniment, comments about being “too good” for my classmates when I earned a purple ribbon at State Fair.
Though these are my details, you probably feel the pain if acceptance is your idol.
How far back does this idol go? I’ve asked myself, and now Jennifer’s book has reminded me to ask God to show me.
“As far back as your sister Eve, in the garden,” God said this morning when I prayed.
“Ah, yes. And she walked and talked each day with God Himself. Why was she not satisfied with that relationship?”
Though I don’t have the answer to that question, it helps me understand why this “Love Idol” of acceptance affects so many of us. Eve’s need even when she had daily fellowship with God discloses why periodically another tentacle of this beast slithers out to wring my heart.
Paul wrote from house custody in Romans 12:1,2 “I urge you to offer your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice to God, a sacred offering that brings Him pleasure; this is your reasonable, essential worship. Do not allow this world to mold you in its own image. Instead, be transformed from the inside out by renewing your mind.” (The Voice)
The problem is, I am a living sacrifice. Some days I choose not to climb up on the altar. Or sometimes the fire gets too hot and I slip down the side, hoping for an easier way to worship Him.
This isn’t the answer that I want. What I want is to check this idol off my list. I want to be done with it for good, never to feel it enmeshing my heart again.
As long as my heart beats, the serpent will try to take my focus off Jesus. As he did with Eve back in the garden, truth woven into his subtle lie slides in when I am distracted. He watches me for signs of busyness or exhaustion. Sometimes the deceiver comes after a spiritual high, when my normal rhythms are ebbing.
The Holy Spirit tunes my heart to God’s ways, God’s love, and God’s mercy. The discordant note of falsehood sounds softly behind the melody, but I am learning to trust the Spirit to help me hear it before it drowns out the beauty God pours into my life.
I’m Sheila, and I’m preapproved!
Sheila Dailie continues to be amazed by God’s love for her and His patience in teaching her that HE is her God, not whether other people accept her. Raising four girls on her husband’s family farm, teaching piano lessons, and using leadership skills in her church and as a certified lay speaker give her opportunity to serve the God who has wooed her all her life. Currently, she enjoys her two granddaughters, family gatherings, and friends near and far, as well as reading, writing occasional blog posts, and photographing the beauty of her South Dakota country homestead.
THE LOVE IDOL MOVEMENT
Click here to find out more about the Love Idol movement.
Click here to purchase the book that inspired the movement.
Click here to join us on Facebook as we lay down our Love Idols and declare our #preapproved status in Christ.
THE PRINTABLES
Click here to print the black and white preapproved cutouts.
Place these where ever your Love Idols have lurked!
A pink PreApproved printable: to frame, to put on your refrigerator, to give to a friend.
Click here to print. My gift to you, brave soul!
Sheila, I can relate so much to your statement, “The problem is, I am a living sacrifice. Some days I choose not to climb up on the altar. Or sometimes the fire gets too hot and I slip down the side, hoping for an easier way to worship Him.This isn’t the answer that I want. What I want is to check this idol off my list.”
I too, would love to check my love idol off the list and be done with it. May we make the decision to choose life by laying our idols down *daily*, recognizing that we are PREAPPROVED and accepted in the Beloved! Thank you for your transparency and sharing about your desire to be accepted.