My Own Lipstick Gospel

   It took me almost eighteen years to figure out what exactly my relationship with Christ looked like. Sure, I had the influence of my parents, my sisters, my brother, and my friends. I've never had a difficult time figuring things out for myself, but for some reason, this took longer than I expected. Today, I'm 20 years old, and still couldn't tell you what my entire relationship with my Heavenly Love looks like. That's the beauty of it. I'm constantly finding out more about Him, more about myself, and most importantly, more about me with Him. There are so many different types of Christianity, and sometimes it's hard to fit into a specific category. If I had to align all of my beliefs and traditions, to the average stranger, I would be considered a Baptist. I try not to label myself in that way, so I refer to myself as a Christ-Follower. Period.

So, what does that look like? If you were to take a part my heart and my relationship with Him, I imagine it would be on a huge vision board. There would be a lot of scriptures, lyrics, pictures, and colors. Bright colors and pastel colors. Lyrics to traditional hymns, and lyrics to modern-day Christian folk music. Pictures of my family, and pictures of my best friends. All of these are extremely different, but they have a common theme: they depict my relationship with Christ. 

Recently, I read "The Lipstick Gospel" by Stephanie May Wilson. This book was short and to the point, so for a twenty year-old on the go, it was a perfect read. Although it was a short book, I was quickly inspired and challenged by what Stephanie had to say. In her book, she talked about her early belief in the stereotypes of Christians. Wilson mentions in her book why she wasn't immediately attracted to being a Christ-Follower:

"It wasn't that it was a bad product. I passed by it several times on the shelf, nodding at it respectfully. But I just couldn't picture myself in it. There wasn't a place that would fit me. Christianity was a product geared toward grandparents and girls with ugly shoes. I wasn't its target market. I couldn't picture Jesus in my life, or myself as a part of His. And for me, that was ok." 

We've all heard a form of that at some point in our lives. I used to hear that I "had no fun on the weekends and spent all of my free time at church". (I wish!) While I was reading this, I began to think of that stereotype that Wilson mentioned in her book. I began to wonder if I fit into this stereotype. I thought over one question for a couple of hours before picking the book back up:

As an outsider looking in, is my relationship with Christ the same as my vision board? Is it lively and bright? Or is it bland with ugly shoes? Is it truly personal to me, or is it generic? 


Some people may ask why I needed to think over that question. I imagine some may say something like "Well following Jesus is enough. Asking Him to forgive your sins is plenty." For others, that may be the case. For me, it's not. I thrive on relationships. I'm happiest when I'm around my friends or my family. I'm always so interested in the fact that my relationships vary from person to person. My relationship with my friend may look different than my relationship with my brother. Our relationship will represent my personality and theirs. That's similar to how I view my relationship with my Creator.

For me, my relationship with Christ is like a delicious macaroon. It's crunching bright red and orange colored leaves in the fall. It's playing Catch Phrase with my best friends. It's the little high-pitched laughter of my niece and nephews. It's the tail-shaking and licking that my dog does when he greets me after long weeks away from him. It's being at the airport at night-looking out the window and seeing the lights of the airplanes and the city. It's the sound of a g-chord on my freshly tuned mandolin. It's an early sunrise full of gorgeous tones of yellow, pink, orange, and purple. It's finding scripture that has to deal exactly with what I'm going through. It's my favorite thing. It's what I not only need, but what I enjoy. 

I don't want you to think that I'm underestimating the sanctity of Christ and who He is. I don't want you to think that I think of Christ on the same level as macaroons. I honor Christ at the highest level I humanly can. On the other hand, I think that we are designed to enjoy our relationship with Him, and to each of us, that may look different. You may enjoy a nice cup of coffee, or a good book. You may enjoy the sound of the ocean, or Valentine's Day chocolate.

All of us enjoy different things. The things that I mentioned previously are on another vision board of mine. They are some of my favorite things. But, they do not trump my true favorite. I will be the first one to tell you that my absolute favorite thing is the unfailing and unending love from my Father, my Love, my Creator, and my God. 


"What I’m getting at, friends, is that you should simply keep on doing what you’ve done from the beginning. When I was living among you, you lived in responsive obedience. Now that I’m separated from you, keep it up. Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure." Phil 2:12-13 (MSG)

In His forever & always,