Shut Up, Shelly!

Meet Shelly. She is the picture of perfection: tanned, toned, lovely, poised. She breezes through her life with ease and grace, loved by all. Her wardrobe is impeccable, her smile contagious, her life flawless. She never yells at her children or eats one too many chocolates—she has endless patience and her cup runneth over. She is wise, charming, nurturing, and undoubtedly a super mom and wife.

And she hates me.

Oh Shelly, why does it have to be this way?

You see, Shelly is my inner critic.

The lifelong friend I never wanted. Always there, right in my mind, reminding me of all the ways I fall short. She shows up when least expected, there to dissect my all my choices and remind me of all the ways I fail myself, God, and those around me.

She is there, to poke and prod and pick at all my scabs. She reminds me of old hurts and wounds, trying her best to start the shame spiral and take me out.

Remember when they said that? She pokes.

Remember that rejection? She prods. 

Remember when you did THAT? She picks.

And on and on it goes.

And the awful part? I listen to her. And what’s worse? I agree.

You’re right, I cry.

I convince myself that Shelly knows best. She’s been here since the beginning, so she’s just being honest. She’s the only one that sees me clearly, truly, for who I really am. So I give her opinion weight in my life, the load so heavy I nearly collapse.

Can I tell you a secret? Something I wish I would have known a long time ago?

Shelly can be silenced.

She resists. She fights back. Fights for my attention. Turns up the volume.

To which, I reply: SHUT UP, SHELLY!!!!!!

Shelly, our relationship is over. Consider this our breakup!

You are not wanted here. You do not belong. You are not my friend. You are my foe. Your shame and condemnation stops today. I’m DONE listening. It’s over. Finished. Forever.

Dear friend: take a lesson from me and consider this your friendly reminder. That voice, that critic in your head? That is not you. That is not God. That is your enemy.

And the sooner we realize that, the sooner we stop being a victim and start walking in victory. The sooner we can silence that voice and tell it to be quiet, in Jesus name. The enemy of our souls wants to take us out, to snuff out our light and our joy. To pull us so deep into a shame spiral that we are sucked into a black hole of depression and apathy. 

But whose voice are we listening to? Whose voice are we giving weight in our lives?

I pray it’s God’s voice. Calling out to us from the depths of our Spirit, calling us back to Him. 

Let’s silence our critic, our accuser, once and for all and TURN UP the volume on God’s voice. Let’s tune into the words He is speaking over our lives: called, chosen, redeemed, loved, accepted, in Christ.

That is what grounds us when we are spiraling out into outer space.

It’s Him. It’s always been Him.