Brittany Ross
November 4, 2023
Isaiah 40:28, English Standard Version
“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth…”
What The Little Mermaid Taught Me Part Two
I am often discontented and restless in this world I inhabit, the spirit within me drowned by the reality about me. I love the truth in the quote “we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” Sometimes I get it twisted. My body makes my spirit say “uncle” as I trudge on through the familiar but unenchanting. The spark inside me never dies but dwindles to a flickering flame, until something catches my eye.
“What’s a fire and why does it, what’s the word… burn?”
I remember my longing to belong—to be understood and accepted. This God-given longing beckons to be fulfilled, even in ungodly ways.
When the chase is on, I forget who my Father is and stop at nothing to fulfill this desire apart from Him.
Not knowing how to use my voice to ask for what I need, I trade it for a counterfeit of what I want.
The scene plays out. I gave up my voice and no longer have what it takes to fulfill my longing because, to truly have my longing fulfilled, I need to embody the truth of who I am.
Who I am is the daughter of the King and it’s my voice that testifies to that truth.
However, in agreement with the lie that I had never had my needs met, I gave my voice over to another.
Now, I stand silently by as she sings my song.
Unlike Ariel, I don’t have a Father blinded by fear; disgusted by my desires. In fact, in their purest form, my Father gave me the desires of my heart—He placed them there and He’s the only one who can fulfill them without collateral damage. He doesn’t ask me to sacrifice my voice; He magnifies it and anoints it with power. He set the world up so that through our voices and His sacrifice, the accusatory voice of the enemy is silenced.
Do we know how valuable our voices are? What God has for us will never be realized by giving our voices away or manipulating them to sound like everyone else’s. God doesn’t want us to trade what sets us apart and empowers us for counterfeit belonging in a world we weren’t created for. Instead, when we ask Him, He’ll equip us with everything we need to live fulfilled in the world, not subject to it.
We’ll be a siren of connection from Heaven to Earth, singing a love song of freedom and true fulfillment for all who have ears to hear.
Who would have thought the Disney cartoon that once-upon-a-time had me and my sisters hoisting ourselves up on the arms of our couch, pretending we were the Little Mermaid belting out the desire to be “part of your world,” would inspire such deep thoughts? But here I am, no longer a little girl oblivious to pain, who made some unbecoming trades for a small taste of belonging alongside heaps of regret.
God is restoring my voice in all its purity, while teaching me of it’s immense value. Much like Ariel, I learned through experience if it costs me my voice, it will cost me everything.