Picture this:

A little girl returns from the grocery store with her father.

She looks up at him in wonder as she sees him lift the majority of the groceries with ease.

In an effort to make him proud, she grabs as many grocery bags as she can fit on her tiny arms.

The girl inches toward her destination, but the bags seem to multiply and the weight only grows.

She will NOT drop the bags. She has to prove that she can handle this task.

At this point, the little girl can't even remember why she chose to carry the bags in the first place, just that they weigh much more than she had expected.

She has forgotten that her father remains right beside her, ready to catch her if she falls.

The little girl does not realize that her father already knows the task is too much for her, as he is prepared to carry those few extra bags when and if her arms get tired.

It is far too easy to get caught up in the lie that the amount of stuff a person can, or is willing to carry determines just how precious and valued they are to The God that loves them unconditionally. Whether it be a grade, a job, or a club, these things could never limit The Creator of everything in deciding who He should or should not be proud of.

I know that I fall victim to this lie on a daily basis. It is a constant cycle of how many "bags" I can carry, how many of them will be dropped by the time I make it to where I'm going, and how I can make up for dropping them at a later date.

The moment we can remember why He is proud of His children is the moment we may find the courage to drop our bags and let Him carry our weight.

He is proud of you because you are His creation. Just as the father would not be disappointed if his little girl were to crumble underneath the bags of groceries, God does not feel shame when one of His children comes up short. He longs to be a place separated from this world focused on accomplishment. He is The One prepared to catch us when we fall. He is The One saying, "Child, I will carry that weight." He is waiting for us to run into His arms and hand over everything that is simply too much weight for us to carry on our own.