I belong to you... alone.

I recently sang this song at my home church. I was asked at rehearsal that week if I would speak before the song. It’s always been funny to me how nervous I get when I have to talk. I can sing in front of hundreds of people, but if I have to talk I get so nervous!! But, not wanting to seem nerved, I gladly said yes! All week I prayed about it, thought of what I wanted to say, and tried to calm my nerves. Every once in a while I would forget about the coming Sunday and then bam! It would come back to my mind and my stomach would get queezy. I would tell myself it was okay, and then close my eyes and pray.

Then, for once, I wasn’t searching for words… they were pouring out! Now I just didn’t know which story to use, what lesson I learned, or what my heart was screaming out every time I heard the song. I decided that God was going to show me what I needed to say, and that I no longer needed to stress! This worked for the most part but, being a perfectionist when it comes to my music and ministry, it wasn’t always easy! Finally Sunday came. I was excited… nervous…anxious…happy… worried… It was a very confusing emotional morning!! :)

Back stage, I practiced what I was going to say—and I started to cry! "No, no, no, Ashley" I thought. You can’t CRY in front of hundreds of people. You can’t let them get that close!!! But then, it was as if Jesus came down and wrapped his arms around me. I felt him hold me. I heard him whisper in my ear “Share your heart my child. Let them see your heart!” All of the sudden I was no longer worried. I went out on stage sang a few songs and when it came time for my song, I felt complete peace.

I told them what I learned. I told them what was in my heart. It went something like this:

I absolutely love this song. It’s like singing the ultimate love song for Christ.
I shared a line from a TV show I had recently heard; Feeling inadequate has a universal zip code. It had been on my mind all week. I went on to say that despite what the world thinks, we are not called to be perfect. Perfection is not possible. Jesus loves us even when we fail. We live in a world where women are not beautiful unless they are size 2. We are told we must “change” who we are by “fixing ourselves.” We get our hair done, cake make-up on to hide our face, we get plastic surgery, and diet constantly. We live in a world where we must be strong, and never let them see us cry! For men, we live in world where being a man means never having feelings. Your worth is measured by how much money you make. And if you’re not financial banking, you’re not doing anything right. It’s NO WONDER that we feel so inadequate. It’s no wonder we hide. But, there is someone who loves us no matter how much we don’t measure up to the world’s standards. There is someone who finds us beautiful ALWAYS. Someone that doesn't care how much money we make. Someone that we can trust, and we belong to him. Nothing in this world can take that away. Not hunger. Not hardships. Not weakness, or faliure. Nothing can take his love away.

We do not belong to this world. We are called to live in it, but not to be of it.
We belong to Jesus. I belong to Jesus.

I cried.
I would not trade that moment for anything.
God gave me a word to share, and I shared it.


I belong to you
I belong to you
Nothing can take me from your great love
Forever this truth remains.