Surrender Ur Jr. God Badge

 

We see exhausted, frazzled women everywhere we go,especially at this time of year. Why are we all so exhausted so often? You may think of a thousand reasons, but I am convinced that the most common reason that all women from all walks of life are stressed out, and worn out is their propensity to try to be the Head Chick in Charge. Trying to be in charge in an out-of-control world inevitably leads to exhaustion. On a woman’s best day, the illusion of control has her in a trance. For a brief moment, she feels “large and in charge,” and life is good. Her “Junior God Badge” is on—the counterfeit badge that all of us own and none of us earned. Wearing this controlling badge is as natural for a woman as breathing.  The controlling woman strives daily to perfect God-like qualities in her life. They may seem impressive, but they are ultimately a vain attempt to tame the untamable and to avoid suffering. This Junior God Badge owner is a woman who is a “wannabe deity.”

The first woman who thought she was smarter than God was Eve. Eve exchanged dependence on the Creator of the Universe for independence and a life of untamable chaos and heartache. Way to go, Eve! The serpent deceived Eve into thinking that control was better than dependence: “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:5).  The Mother of the human race, Eve, was the original owner of the Junior God Badge; and like a good mama, she bequeathed us a precious family heirloom that has now been passed down from generation to generation. We females are all little Evettes. The DNA of a woman’s anxiety and her need to control is something we arrive with when we take our first breath.  Eve ate the forbidden fruit because she wanted to be more like God, and we are still eating that fruit today. For every owner of a Junior God Badge, wanting to be like God is the foundation for living. Daily, our lives declare our dependence or independence.     For the dependent woman, God’s grace is available. For the independent woman, it’s a different story. Unfortunately, the independent Junior God Badge wearer thinks she is Wonder Woman and that she can soar beyond the reach of human disappointment and suffering. This means that the independent, controlling woman is often not a candidate for the grace of God. Why is this? Because God only gives grace to the humble (who have been knocked down by circumstances) and He resists (keeps at a distance) the proud (see James 4:5–6). Are you a grace-resistant woman? Or have you experienced the privilege of having an unimaginable capacity to face the unimaginable?   – Jackie Kendall, author of Surrender Your Junior God Badge   Jackie Kendall is president of Power to Grow Ministries. She is a national conference speaker and the bestselling author of Lady in Waiting, The Mentoring Mom, A Man Worth Waiting For, Free to Love: The Liberating Power to Forgiveness, and Lady in Waiting for Little Girls. She has been married 37 years to Ken and they have two grown children, Ben and Jessi, a son-in-law Drew, and their first grandchild—Emma Grace.