Ugly Duckling, Ugly Geri

"But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." - Isaiah 40:31

I guess I was like Ugly Duckling somewhat when I was younger. I had been told I was a duck and that I quacked, not honk. I would watch the swans enviously - grace was their middle name - and which I were swan too.

I tried to fit in with the other ducks but I was ostracised because I was just too different from them. They had pretty, multicoloured feathers arrayed in beautiful designs - but my feathers seemed drab in comparison. I tried to find love and acceptance in all the wrong places, trusted the wrong people. I cried myself to sleep like the Ugly Duckling each night. I saw myself the way the world described me to be like I agreed with them because I didn't know better.

I fell into an icy crack on the cold and frosted ground one day, whilst running away from the wintery landscape, and there I hibernated. In winter, the darkness of night covers the lands more than the sunshine of day... and I was content to sleep and wait for the season to quickly pass me by.

Then, I came to be found by a kind Man who told me "You are a beautiful swan." I looked at Him incredulously, finding His Words too good to be true!

He held up a mirror to show me my reflection - I had not known that through the darkest period of my life, I had emerged from it changed and different. What I saw surprised me - I thought I was grey and speckled, but my feathers were now snow white; I thought I had stumpy wings that could not take flight, but little did I know that through the struggles, they had grown stronger. Unlike the ducks and sparrows who need to flap their wings frantically to stay up in the air, my wings were now big and strong enough to glide through the air - even for long distances!

The kind Man told me that He had paid for these changes just like He had paid for my yesterdays, my today and my tomorrows. He showed me the receipt or proof of His purchase - nail piereced scars... 3 of them, stripes on His back... countless.

He taught me how to flap my wings, how to exercise my muscles so I could fly and not be weary regardless of the weather conditions. And at the end of the day, He made sure I would have a nest - a secret place in a High Place - to return to for rest. I no longer need to worry about being cold and hungry - He promised to provide for me all the days of my life.

He is still my Saviour, my Redeemer today - still teaching me patiently, feeding me my Daily Bread, encouraging me on with His gentle Word, being the Wind beneath my wings.

I asked Him His name when we first met. I forgot to tell you what His reply was - "Jesus Christ."

- Geri (13th Sept 2008, extract from my Joyce Meyer journal)
I have discovered the secret of the Spirit-controlled temperament. The key is spending quality personal time with the LORD and receiving help from Him on a regular basis. - Joyce Meyer