My name is Stacie, and for most of my life I have struggled with fear, insecurity, low self-esteem, and rejection. I was an extremely shy and timid child, and I had very few friends. I asked Jesus to come into my heart when I was 8 years old. He was a friend who loved me regardless of what others thought about me, but I still struggled with many insecurities. As a teenager, I thought I was overweight and I felt ugly because I had a severe case of acne. None of the guys were interested in me (at least none that I knew of) and why should they be? I certainly was not thin, beautiful, or confident like so many of the other girls I saw around me. I seriously dedicated my life to the Lord in 9th grade, and have been serving Him ever since. He truly became my closest friend during my teen years when I felt so alone and weird because I was so different. (I'm still different, but I embrace that, now! Being different is a blessing!)
As a young adult, I met and married my husband, John, but my insecurities were far from gone. We served in ministry at four churches and were rejected from all but one of those churches. Through the years of being rejected by peers and by churches, I began to think "Rejection" was my middle name!
God,though, proved to me that He knew my name! My name is inscribed on the palms of His Hands, and the name He has written there is not "Rejection"! One day, He began to speak to me concerning my name. He said that the enemy had tried to name me "Rejection", and I had believed that name for far too long. He specifically spoke to me and told me to look up the meaning of my names, for He had named me -- not my parents! While researching my name, Stacie Carisa, I learned Stacie means "Resurrected" and Carisa means "Beloved." God lovingly spoke to my heart and said, "Your name is NOT "Rejection," but I have "Resurrected" you out of the Valley of Rejection, and you are My "Beloved." He also gave me another new name: Complete, Lacking Nothing!
I no longer deal with the rejection, insecurity, and intimidation that haunted me for the first 29 years of my life. God has completely delivered me from low self-esteem, and I am confident of who I am in Christ. I know that He loves me, and He has called me for a specific purpose, and He will "Complete" that purpose in me!
Part of that purpose is to help girls, teens, and women realize that they, too, are special to God. He has a special name for them -- just like He does for me, and He wants them to see themselves the way He sees them. It is my desire to see girls learn who they are in Christ at an early age so they will not walk in the intimidation and insecurity that I walked in for so long. I want to see teen girls build strong relationships with Jesus so they will not be moved by what the world around them has to say about them, but they will serve Him with all their hearts, that He may complete His purpose in them, and raise them up to be leaders in their generation. Finally, I long to see women become everything God has called them to be. No longer will they be pushed around by the lies the enemy tells them, but they can stand firm knowing God created them with special gifts and talents for the body of Christ, and He has equipped them with everything they need to fulfill their purpose.
I am so grateful to God for His abounding mercy and love! Though many of the struggles in my life have been difficult, I would not trade a single moment of it, for it has brought me to the place I am now, and the victory I now have over rejection is truly sweet!
