You Are a Swan!

 

Yesterday I was returning home from an errand and caught sight of a majestic pair of swans floating together on the pond across from the house.  In our nine years here I have never seen them there before. 

I pulled into the driveway and told Ella to grab some shoes and come with me to see and I grabbed my camera.

It took a bit of waiting in the brutal wind, reminding us that winter hasn't officially departed yet, as the swans alternately plunged their heads down into the water I assume to fish for nourishment.  But I was able to capture a few images before conceding to the cold and returning home.

Ella casually asked if I could send the pictures to her and I did, not thinking much about it.

Then today I had a couple different people tell me what a fine job she did teaching her young women lesson at church.  

It turns out the swans timed their arrival rather perfectly.  (Isn't that the way the Lord often works??!!) 

She was buddied up with another girl to teach a lesson on our identities as children of God.

As a part of that she had shared a message from Dieter F Uchtdorf in which he told the classic tale of the ugly duckling.  Speaking of its message he implored, "Like this young swan, most of us have felt at one time or another that we don’t quite fit in. Much of the confusion we experience in this life comes from simply not understanding who we are. Too many go about their lives thinking they are of little worth when, in reality, they are elegant and eternal creatures of infinite value with potential beyond imagination."

For you see we are each a beloved and incredible child of God.  

That can't be changed no matter what.  

It is a simple truth.  

True for each and every one of us, no matter what the world's filters, measures or cruel words may say. 

He followed up with this. "My dear young friends, this knowledge allows you to see your own reflection in the water. It assures you that you are not ordinary, rejected, or ugly. You are something divine — more beautiful and glorious than you can possibly imagine. This knowledge changes everything. It changes your present. It can change your future. And it can change the world."

Then Ella shared how my beautiful daughter-in-law, Ali, had shared with her at her own engagement party this same truth that she taught all of her youth as an EFY counselor.  She had encouraged and challenged them all to disrupt negative messages about self-worth, whether they were saying it or they heard others do it, by saying "You are a swan."  

And not just saying it but shouting it.   "You are a swan!"  

Loud enough to drown out all the lies of the world.  

Loud enough to overpower our self-doubts.

Loud enough that you hear the conviction in your own voice.

My heart swelled with pride and love for Ali and this simple way in which she shared her testimony and blessed others.  I didn't think I could love her more but this made her simply glow in my mind. 

This is a challenge we should all take. 

Whether it's your hair, your home, your job review, your parenting, your current sin challenge, or your body - this truth remains.  

You are a swan.  

And that changes everything.