The other day I woke up wondering why the Ostrich buries its head in the sand. That never made much sense to me. We can still see you Mr. Ostrich! The Lion can still see you! Just because you can’t see the Lion, doesn’t mean he can’t see you. Hello, Lunch! Game over. Poor Ostrich.
THE OSTRICH:
Come to find out, the Ostrich isn’t burying its head:
1. Ostriches dig shallow nests in the ground for their eggs and to check on them, so the Ostrich must lower their heads. From a distance it can look like their heads have disappeared.
2. They also must lower their heads when they eat plants, seeds among other foods.
3. Turns out they crouch low to the ground to avoid being noticed. Their long necks can blend into the landscape, making it look like they buried their heads.
This misconception even created a saying: “Burying your head in the sand” which we use when someone is refusing to face the truth about something.
This led me to think about the lies we believe about ourselves.
MYTHS:
My whole life I believed the Ostrich buried its head. I believed because someone said it, I heard that saying throughout my life. Turns out the whole thing was a myth. What myths are we believing about ourselves?
“Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous - how well I know it!”
Psalm 139:14
When I was told I was not smart, I believed it. I went into a situation thinking that about myself. I never allowed myself to think about college. As an adult with teens, I took a college course in Early Elementary to teach pre-school and got an A. Turns out I’m not dumb. Although there’s math. Math still makes me freeze like a deer in headlights. Scary stuff that math thing.
When I was rejected by a boy at camp for not being pretty, I focused on all the negative parts of me. I never wanted to stand out. I tried to match the wallpaper and blend in. There can be no rejection if you’re not noticed. The problem with that is we are made to be loved and to love and until we are open to being seen, we cannot experience that.
There’s more we can talk through but we would need a couch for me to lay on and whole lot of chocolate, so let me bottom-line it for you:
There are many things that I believed about myself because someone else believed it or said it created someone who crouched low and hid in the landscape.
TRUTH:
God doesn’t want that for us. The only truth He wants us to believe is His!
“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32
The myths we believe about ourselves stops us from being fully free to be WHO God created us to be.
I always felt sorry for the Ostrich, it was like a sitting duck out there with his head in the sand and knees shaking just hoping nothing ate it.
But the truth is:
1. When the Ostrich is frightened, they are more likely to run. They can run up to 43 miles per hour!
2. The Ostrich has an eye that is bigger than its brain! Their excellent eyesight can see predators coming from across the open Savanna.
3. An Ostrich’s powerful kick can seriously injure a predator - even a lion. Those legs aren’t just for running, they’re a remarkable defense!
The lie I believed about the Ostrich never stopped the Ostrich from being and doing all the things he was created to be and do.
Can we say the same thing about us? Are we allowing what others believe or say about us stop us from being and doing what we are created to be and do?
It has been a yes for me. I don’t want it to be a yes. Through the years, God has been so loving, so kind and so faithful to not let me stay there. Sometimes He was gentle and gave room and time to work it all out. Other times it felt like when Jesus flipped the tables in the Temple and made a stand for truth in my life. Both were filled with love and grace and both required action and mindset shifts.
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world but let God transform
you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to
know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
Romans 12:2
There can be many things we believe about God or about ourselves that has its origin in a myth that someone said and repeated until it felt like truth.
“Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear
of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.”
1 John 4:18
My challenge to us is to look at two myths in our lives:
1. What we believe about God, especially if we struggle with believing that He truly loves us or believing His promises are true. Who does God say He is and why are you struggling with believing that?
2. What we believe about ourselves, especially if we’ve been struggling with a familiar lie for a while. What’s the lie we are holding onto that we need to replace with God’s truth?
“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the LORD. ‘
They are plans for good and not for disaster,
to give you a future and a hope.’”
Jeremiah 29:11
My prayer is that we will fully know how much we are loved and cherished and become who God made us to be. We just need to rest in that!
I hope you have a wonderful day and take down some myths that are holding you back.
All My Love ~
Jodi xo
Don’t forget to subscribe below! xo