Meagan

[00:00:02] Hi, guys. My name is Megan, and I am here to share a story with you. But before I get started with the actual story, I just want to give you a little bit of background of who I was as a child, because that's the time and place that this took place. And see, I'm just gonna give a little bit of information. [00:00:21] I was a shy, still kind of a little shy, timid little girl. Very quiet. [00:00:28] Always. [00:00:29] I felt kind of alone a lot. [00:00:34] Kind of was just trying to find my place in the world. So, yeah, I had a lot of things to kind of get through as a kiddo. But with that said, I kind of want to get into my story of a dream that I had as a little girl. I don't remember exactly how old I was. I was probably anywhere from first to third grade. I know that's kind of a big gap, but I don't really remember specifics. But I don't know if any of you guys know Bob Ross. Kind of want to give you a visual of what my dream was. Kind of like, Bob Ross was a very popular painter back in the 80s and 90s. [00:01:08] Yes, I am that old. He was this very happy gentleman. He was a smaller white gentleman that had this awesome afro. And he just. He was amazing. He would sit there and they would video him doing his paintings, and he would just do it so happily. And it was always kind of fun to watch him because he brought joy into his work. [00:01:30] So with that, I'm gonna get into my story. So when I was a little girl, I call this story, when I met Jesus, didn't know who he was at the time. I never. I didn't grow up going to church. My parents didn't take us to church on Sundays. We didn't. They didn't really talk about him much. [00:01:49] So to make that known, I didn't know who this gentleman was in my dream, but in my dream, there was this guy. There was a canvas just like, if you do know Bob Ross, just picture that canvas and that little stool. And this guy's just sitting there. He's an all white. It was, like, one outfit, and he had, like, longer, darker hair. [00:02:12] And he was painting this painting. At first, I couldn't tell what it was because, you know, he was just getting started. And he would make a stroke with his brush, and every stroke he made, he had something loving and tender to say with every. And he did it with extreme tenderness and love. It was. It was awesome. I just. It really drew me into this dream. I was really, really focused on this canvas, this painting. And he would. [00:02:42] As he would go, he'd paint some more. He'd make the eyebrows, and then you could tell that he was making a person's face. And he'd start going, and he'd make the hair, then he'd make another stroke. And he'd make the eyes come alive and so forth. And the nose. [00:03:01] I mean, it's hard to explain it. I just wish you guys could have been there, because it was awesome. Like, just feeling the love and the compassion this man had in his work that he was doing. [00:03:14] And finally, he's getting more and more of the face. And I'm looking at it, and he's saying all these kind words. He's saying perfect. He's saying beautiful. [00:03:26] And he just. Words like that. [00:03:29] And then by the end of that, you're looking at the picture and I look at it and I realize it's myself. And when he was completely done, he. [00:03:39] Sorry. [00:03:45] Sorry. [00:03:46] He called it his masterpiece. [00:03:50] And he doesn't make junk. He doesn't make mistakes. [00:03:57] So I get really emotional because I did not feel any of those that he was calling me. I did not have those naturally. [00:04:07] Unfortunately, you know, we didn't get a lot of I loves yous and hugs in my house. So he was just. I think he came into my dream to tell me, you are loved. You've been wonderfully created. He and I just. Again, I wish you could have been there to feel the love and the care and the tenderness that he put in there. Because he. [00:04:30] I mean, goodness, great. He knows how many hairs on the head. On your head you have. I mean, that's crazy, because if you're like me, you shed every day. And it looks. I mean, but yet he still can keep track of how many hairs you have on your head. He cares about all that. [00:04:47] And in that, during that time, too, he called me beautiful, which is something I have a hard time believing in myself. And he still is till this day reminds me that he gave me a husband that tells me that every day. [00:05:07] And so he's always continuously telling me and reminding me who I am in him. And again, I didn't grow up going to church, and I always knew there was somebody there because with that painting, I also used to. When I would get really sad, I would just look up in the sky and talk to who knows who it was. I now know. I know who it is now, but when I was little, I had no idea. So he always let me know that I wasn't alone and that he's there for me, but he's really worked in me. I've really learned to be bold and brave. I'm up here right now talking to you. That would have never happened before. So that was just really, really special moment in my life. And I think it's important to know who you are in Christ and who he has called you to be. And, you know, just focus on that and believe the things that he's telling you that you are, because you are brave, you are bold, you are courageous. He's called you all those things. Don't listen to the lies. [00:06:19] And I do believe that we're all born knowing who he is. And that's an awesome thing, knowing that you're not alone, even when you are sad. Lean into him, because he'll be there for you when nobody else is. When you feel like nobody else is, he's gonna be there. [00:06:34] And he does care. And again, I just wish you could have been there, because you could have felt it. Because I still feel it and I still remember it. And that was such a long time ago. And he likes to remind me of that story. And it's one of my favorite stories. [00:06:51] And with that said, I want to share a verse, Psalms 139, 13. [00:06:59] And it says, oh, yes, you shaped me first inside, then out. You formed me in my mother's womb. I thank you, High God. You're breathtaking. Body and soul, I am marvelously made. I worship in adoration. What a creation. You know me inside and out. You know every bone in my body. [00:07:20] You know exactly how I was made bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something like an open book. You watched me grow from conception to birth. All the stages of my life were spread out before you. The days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day. [00:07:40] So he's always been there, even before you were born, before you were even out of your mother's womb. [00:07:46] So that's something to hold on to. And another point. Point I like to make with this story is like his art, his artwork. He showed me one piece of his many awesome artwork. You're one of his masterpieces. You're one of his beautiful, bold creations. And you can step out the door and just see so many more of his masterpieces. Just go enjoy the sunrise, the sunset. Go outside and just listen to his other masterpieces. It's just this world is full of his love. You just have to stop and think and watch it and listen.