“Stand Tall”

As I entered my freshman year of high school-
I was undersized. My team issued basketball tube socks hung freely and piled down by my shoelaces. 
Kids at school made fun of me, my name (Littlefield), and everything I did. 
I hated being little. 
I didn’t fit in.

As I began to grow…
I got a quick growth spurt. 
It made going to school somewhat easier, but then I looked so different than the petite women who were my mom and sisters. 
I hated being big. 
I didn’t fit in. 

These are tales as old as time. 
It’s not a unique coming-of-age story to have been uncomfortable in my own skin. 
It’s the
“Then what-“
That determined who I became. 

As I continue to ponder strength—
The idea-
To “stand tall” hits the forefront of my thinking-
To avoid shrinking when what I think makes others feel uncomfortable…

So—
How do I gather the strength to avoid hiding from what I believe I’m hearing God tell me- 
And then grapple with the courage to act on it?

As a mom of a young daughter, I knew teaching her to “stand tall” was the work God needed me to do. 
It was sometimes (and continues to be) hard to watch how people treat her.  

I hated witnessing it. 

The accompanying difficulty was God cautioning me against rescuing her. 
The emotions stirred me to have an open conversation with her about it. 
Sometimes…
Many times, actually, I felt that God was asking too much of her. 

We had followed a seemingly crazy prompting from God to move her from our hometown at the beginning of her Freshman year of high school. 
Again, two years later, just as she was finding her stride, we listened to God, and moved again. 
I struggled with the way the new round of “people” worked to break her down. 
However, after our first move, she had learned about God’s angels. She had done the work to gain a belief and understanding of their ability to help her. 
And so they did….
And she let them. 

She battled. 
She learned to stand tall. 
She learned to defend truth. 

I circle back to one of my favorite sayings…
Specifically, read this as a roadmap to stand tall–

“Sometimes you need to change your playmates…
Sometimes you need to change your playground…
And sometimes you need to change both.” 

I’ve experienced the need to pivot from ideas and plans that seemed brilliant…
When God knew a better path for me. 

I’ve had to stand in opposition to ideas presented to me by people who love me…
Oftentimes, the courage to hear what God is telling me to do over all of the other voices is difficult. 
It’s hard. 
It’s emotional.
It’s breathless. 
But above all else-
It’s worth it. 

When I was 9, Jamie Glenn released a song. I would often sing the chorus, tears streaming down my face, feeling weak. 
It was the right message then to remind me of my source of strength as I grappled with literal and figurative growing pains.  I still lean on its message over 40 years later-
And it’s still the same message I hope my daughter and every woman can choose to hear and believe-

“Walk tall, you’re a daughter, a child of God.
Be strong—please remember who you are.
Try to understand, you’re part of His great plan.
He’s closer than you know—reach up, He’ll take your hand.”

To the women in my life, and my growing granddaughter–
Here’s my message of faith-filled truths for each of us—

God knows our paths will take us down bumpy roads.
They are often the very roads He leads us down. 
He doesn’t need our path to be clearly mapped, and void of pitfalls-
Quite the opposite. 

God needs us to never tire of relying on Him for strength and fortitude to fight for truth and the courage to act. 
He needs us to trust and believe that in and through Him, and the atoning sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, happiness may look different than we think…
The strength to do what we are asked of by God, will always tell the most- right -beautiful story of our life. 

Peace becomes part of it-
Not just the destination-
But through every turn of the course. 

“Walk tall, you’re a daughter, a child of God.
Be strong—please remember who you are.”

-JC

(No-Bake) Oreo Fudge Bars

Oreo Crust:
16 Oreos, finely crushed
3T (1.5 oz.) softened cream cheese
Dash of salt
Use a food chopper or processor to finely crush Oreos. Mix in cream cheese and salt until well combined. Press into the bottom of a parchment lined 8″x8″ square baking pan.

Oreo Fudge:
48 Oreos, finely crushed
6 oz. Softened cream cheese
⅛ teaspoon salt
Use a food chopper or processor to finely crush Oreos. Mix in cream cheese and salt until well combined. Layer onto Oreo Crust into prepared pan.

Fudge Topping:
¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 Tablespoons whole milk
Dash of salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract 
Melt chocolate chips into milk and salt in a microwave safe bowl. (Begin with 30 seconds, stir, and add 10 second intervals until melted.) Stir in vanilla extract. Spread onto the top of the Oreo Fudge layer.
Refrigerate until serving. (2+ hours) Remove bars from baking pan and cut into 36 squares. Garnish with 2 oz. melted white candy discs and mini Oreos, as desired.
Share!