How Do You Like Your Eggs?

In the movie Runaway Bride, Maggie Carpenter, played by the talented Julia Roberts, had no clue how she liked her eggs. Maggie always ate them however the man she was with at the time ate them.  As the story unfolds throughout the movie, it is discovered that Maggie has changed everything about herself for whatever guy she is engaged to–clothing, interests, eggs, and more. She’s eaten her eggs scrambled, over easy, egg whites, poached, fried, eggs benedict, boiled, etc. By the end of the movie, Maggie comes to the realization that she has never truly discovered who she is and what she likes. She has spent her whole life changing to please others, that somewhere along the way she lost her own self.

There is a fine line to be walked–are you pleasing others out of a place of insecurity, or pleasing others out of a place of identity. Pleasing people from a place of insecurity can lead to feelings of being trapped, manipulated, out of control, being controlled, fear, anxiety, co-dependency, and lots of frustration. When our identity comes from being loved and completely accepted by the Father, it is from this place we are empowered to love and in a healthy way, please others.  We please out of a place of knowing who we are as individuals, established healthy boundaries in our lives, and embracing the differences of those around us.

In one of the last scenes of Runaway Bride, you see Maggie sitting in front of several plates of differently made eggs. She tastes them all until she knows her favorite–eggs benedict. So, how do you like your eggs? I like my eggs over easy–fried on both sides, but the yolk stays runny. Mmmm… great for dipping a piece of buttery toast! Be encouraged today: “For you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people.” 1 Peter 2:9-11.