Five Minute Friday: Cherished

It's that time again...Five Minute Friday.Five Minute Friday is a writing flash mob of sorts started by Lisa Jo Baker. Every Friday writers from around the web write on the same topic for five minutes straight, no editing, no interruptions. Then they post what they’ve got and link up to the other writers.

Today's topic, fitting in with old rhymes and new verses, is CHERISHED.

GO...CherishedThere are so many names I give myself, so many identities I try on.Writer, daughter, friend, and gringa are a few of the obvious.And then the names, the words, that penetrate much deeper. That whisper in the silence. That fill my soul with dread.Unwanted. Alone. Lazy. Fat. Burned out. Unloved. Or worse, unlovable.I've been thinking a lot about names lately. My church here in Guatemala started a series called "My name is..." or "Mi Nombre es..." And will probably keep blogging about names in the weeks to come.But today, with just five minutes and just one word, Cherished, I will stick to that name.Cherished. Adored. Loved. Beloved.Can I have the audacity to take a name like that? To see myself as cherished? To be the one who cherishes me?What role does cherishing myself have in cherishing others? Can I really value others, can I really see their stories as my own, if I don't see my own story as one worth telling, as one worth cherishing?You can't have one without the other. To cherish, to value, to hold dear. It's just a word, a name. But can I claim it? Do I want it in a world that prizes self-deprecation and devaluation?Cherished. It fumbles on the tongue. Feels antiquated.But that's why I'm here. Writing on this blog. To write in my own value. To write in the dearness of my own heart. To be reminded of the One who cherishes me and to choose His names and His love.DONE.***How do you view the word cherished? Do you think you can cherish or value others without cherishing yourself? ***Want to learn more about Five Minute Friday and how to participate? All the details are here.