By Joan Endicott
Dear Young at Heart, this is the fourth in the“ I Get To!”® series with GiGi & Joy. I pray you personally enjoy these, while also sharing these stories and life lessons with the little ones you love, as well. May it connect with all ages, offering moments of compassionate conversations that serve to ground every heart, regardless of age, in the timeless truths of God’s Word. – Joan
Joy leaned against the worn wooden fence, resting her chin on her arms as she watched Gideon chew. The big, gentle horse lowered his heavy head, blowing a soft, warm breath against Joy’s open hand to politely ask for another apple slice.
“It feels like everyone in the world has an invisible label on them,” Joy whispered quietly, handing him another piece. “Like, ‘that girl is the pretty one, the boy running fastest is the best athlete, and the one humming is the greatest singer.’”
GiGi stood beside her, gently brushing hay from Gideon’s thick mane.
Joy let out a sigh, her shoulders slumping. “People are always putting those shiny tags on each other. But when I look at myself, GiGi… I don’t see any tag at all. It just makes me feel like maybe I’m not really that good at anything.”
GiGi patted the horse’s strong neck. “Do you know what Gideon’s name means, my love?”
Joy shook her head.
“It means mighty warrior,” GiGi said softly. “But the man named Gideon in the Bible didn’t feel mighty at all. He felt like the smallest, weakest person in his whole town. But it didn’t matter who people thought Gideon was, or that he didn’t have any shiny labels to show them. God’s label was the only one that mattered, and God looked right at his heart and called him a mighty warrior.”
Gideon nudged Joy’s empty hand with his soft velvet nose, completely unaware labels even existed, simply grateful for her kind heart.
Joy left a soft kiss on Gideon’s broad forehead. Then, with arms wrapped around each other, they walked slowly back to the garden swing, soaking in the bright patches of color.
GiGi reached out and took both of Joy’s hands, looking right into her eyes.
“Oh, my sweet girl,” GiGi whispered. “Labels are just tiny, sticky things people use when they don’t know just how big and beautiful each person really is. But those labels are a trick. They make us think we have to earn our place in the world.”
Joy sniffled quietly. “But what if I don’t have a thing I’m best at?”
“Do you love looking at a beautiful sunset?” GiGi asked.
Joy nodded.
“Does the sunset have to be good at math for you to think it’s wonderful?”
“No,” Joy said, a tiny smile touching her lips. “It’s just a sunset.”
“That’s right,” GiGi smiled softly. “And what about Princess? Does she have to win a trophy for us to want her sleeping right here on our laps?”
Joy thought of her sweet pup. “No. We just love her because she’s Princess.”
“And that is exactly how God loves you,” GiGi said gently. “His love has absolutely nothing to do with what you look like or what talents you have. He doesn’t love us less when we make mistakes, or more when we do great things. We can’t do anything to earn His love—it’s already there—and it never changes. He loves you simply because that is who He is, and you are His.”
GiGi gently squeezed Joy’s hand. “Do you remember one of our favorite stories about the little wooden people called Wemmicks?”*
Joy nodded slowly. “The ones who spent all day giving each other stickers. Gold stars for the pretty or talented ones, and gray dots for the ones who made mistakes, or couldn’t jump very high.”
“And do you remember Punchinello?” GiGi asked softly.
“He was covered in gray dots,” Joy whispered, her eyes fixed on the grass. “He thought he wasn’t a good Wemmick because of what other people said about him.”
“But then he met a friend named Lucia,” GiGi reminded her. “Do you remember what was so special about her?”
Joy’s eyes brightened a little. “She didn’t have any stickers at all! The stars and the dots just fell right off her.”
“Yes,” GiGi smiled. “Punchinello wanted to be just like her, without any shiny stars or gray dots. So he went to see Eli, the woodcarver who made him. And what did Eli tell him?”
Joy took a slow breath. “He said the stickers only stick if you let them. And that Punchinello was special just because Eli made him, no matter what the other Wemmicks thought.”
GiGi’s warm smile comforted her. “Exactly, my love. Our Creator feels the exact same way about you. The labels people try to stick on us don’t matter—unless we let them.”
“But these feelings feel so HUGE, GiGi! Even if I don’t want them to matter… it feels like they still do!” Joy’s voice caught in her throat.
GiGi held her close. “I’m so sorry, angel-girl. I feel those huge feelings, too, and it’s painful.”
They simply sat for a while. Then, GiGi hummed softly and finally asked, “Do you know what fickle means, Joy?”
Joy grinned. “No, but it rhymes with tickle!” She reached down and tickled the bottom of GiGi’s bare feet.
They both warmly welcomed the laughter.
GiGi caught her breath and smiled. “It means that even though our feelings are very real to us, we cannot trust them to be true.” She tapped Joy gently on the nose. “Feelings feel big and powerful, but that doesn’t mean they are telling the truth.”
“Remember the other night when I told you I saw a huge shadow of something on the garden wall?”
Joy nodded, her grin returning. “And we went outside with the flashlight and found out it was just that little stone turtle sitting on the stump in the flowerbed!”
They both chuckled.
“That’s right,” GiGi said. “The yard light was hitting him just right, and it stretched his shadow all the way up the wall. My first feeling of being scared was very real! The shadow tricked me into thinking something was there that wasn’t.”
GiGi gently tucked a piece of hair behind Joy’s ear. “Our feelings can be just like that shadow. They look and feel huge in our minds, and they can make us feel very small or afraid of things that aren’t real. But when we shine the light of God’s truth on them—well, we see things for what they are.”
“Yeah, a silly little turtle!” Joy laughed.
Joy let the truth wash over her as the swing swayed gently back and forth. It felt nice not to need a shiny label. Yet, as she looked down at the wildflowers scattered through the garden, another tangled thought floated in.
“Sometimes I look at other girls and think how pretty they are…and I’m not,” she said quietly. “And others are way more talented. Then I feel like there isn’t much special left for me.”
GiGi drew her closer. “Oh, sweetheart, I understand. Comparison whispers that someone else having more means there is less for you. But God’s goodness never runs out.”
She let the quiet hold them for a moment.
“Sometimes those funny little feelings make us think God’s gifts are like one small pie—if someone gets a big piece, there won’t be enough for us,” GiGi said. “But someone else’s beauty doesn’t take away yours. Their gifts don’t make your gifts smaller. Someone else shining does not make your light grow dim.”
Joy picked a tiny purple flower growing beside a tall red one.
“So the tall red flower doesn’t steal any beauty from the little purple one?”
GiGi smiled. “They can both be beautiful at the same time because God imagined each one differently. And you know, flowers never compare themselves to each other. The little purple flower doesn’t look up at the tall red one and wish it were taller. It just brightly blooms exactly as God designed it to.”
Joy studied the tiny petals resting in her hand. “I almost didn’t notice this one.”
“Does being smaller or harder to notice make it less beautiful?” GiGi asked.
Joy shook her head. “No. It just means I needed to slow down and really look.”
GiGi’s eyes softened. “Sometimes we need to do that with ourselves, too.”
Joy was quiet.
“What do I do when those feelings tell me I’m not as good as someone else?” she asked.
“When you start hearing those thoughts,” GiGi said, “ask yourself, Is this feeling telling me the truth? Feelings may visit us, but they don’t get to decide what is true. We get to answer them with what God says and tell those ugly lies to leave us alone—’cause this isn’t their home!”
“And God says He made me wonderfully,” Joy said.
“He certainly does.”
Joy looked from the red flower to the little purple one.
“So I get to be glad for the wonderful things God gave them, and be glad for the wonderful things He gave me, too.”
GiGi rubbed Joy’s back. “Yes, my love. Just like lighting someone else’s candle takes nothing from yours, someone else’s beauty or gifts never take anything away from yours. God’s goodness is never divided into pieces—it overflows to each of us.
“And He gives us all those wonderful blessings so we can be a blessing to others,” GiGi added softly. “When a cup overflows, it means there is more than it can hold—so much that it spills over to everyone around us. God’s love, joy, and hope are like that. Isn’t that just like our loving God?” (from Romans 15:13)
Joy smiled as she handed GiGi the purple flower, leaning into her. “Then ‘I Get To’® choose my view—about other people, and about myself, too.”
“And what a beautiful view that is,” GiGi whispered as she kissed the top of Joy’s head.
* Reference: You Are Special by Max Lucado.
Joan Endicott is a keynote speaker, coach, and author. Her faith-centered message, “I Get To!”®, has encouraged people in over 30 countries to make a simple shift in perspective and discover the miraculous life they already have. To receive a FREE copy of her book and ongoing encouragement, visit JoanEndicott.com and follow @JoanEndicott.
Dear readers, thank you for your mailto:Joan@Joanencouraging words about the GiGi & Joy series. Please email me with what you’re enjoying and any ideas for future topics at Joan@JoanEndicott.com.
