Journey Out of Pink

This weekend, I was able to meet my first great grandchild for the first time. It was an awesome experience, but humbling as well. It was difficult to grasp the fact that I'm a great grandmother. Who ever thought I'd become one at such a "young" age?  Looking at my cute little great grandson, I could easily see my grandson in him - those eyes, wow...it reminded me of when my grandson was that little and got to love on him.  It also reminded me that life is going by in a huge hurry and I'd better grab every second of every day before they slip away.  As I watched my great grandson tug on my husband's beard, I felt a huge tug on my heart strings. More than likely, we won't be around to see this little guy grow up, but hopefully we'll still get to be a part of his life through photos - at least for a little while.  When I had my children, I never gave much thought to one day becoming a grandmother much less a great grandmother! I was so tuned in to making...

  Be forewarned, this is a very long, personal devotional and definitely falls into the category of oversharing, but I need to do this for myself and hopefully, to encourage and bless someone else. (Also, if you're squeamish, you might not want to look at the pictures.) Most of the people who know me know I'm a firstborn child. As a result of that, I learned quickly to become a people pleaser. I wanted to always do good and be good so I'd get the attention and affection of both my parents and others in my life. To do that, I learned I needed to be in control. I worked hard to keep things in check, things both big and small. But if you've ever studied about it, people pleasing isn't a good thing. In fact, it's a nasty flesh pattern and one that isn't a becoming trait. It's not something that makes God pleased.    Through the years, I've struggled to learn to let go of my people pleasing tendencies and to squelch my need for control. I'm ashamed to...