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It probably doesn’t come as a shock that I have been a fan of Britt Nicole for a really long time. I remember listening to her albums as a teenager, with my friend Erica, singing and dancing as loud and obnoxiously as we could!
When I heard that Britt Nicole was releasing a new album, I was ecstatic! Guys, this album was 4 years in the making, and I had been waiting patiently for her to get back in the music game! And let’s just say I was NOT disappointed! The 4 years were well worth the wait – her new album is amazing! When I tell you I have been listening to it on repeat, I’m not exaggerating at all. It’s so good and so influential in my life today. She is a mom and has two kids and I can pretty much relate to everything she feels. It’s like she reads my diary or something…
As I’ve been listening to the new album, one of the songs called “No Filter” has particularly spoken to my heart. One of the 
verses in the song goes like this:
“And what we let the whole world see
Isn’t really you and me
So tell me what’s a picture worth?
If we can’t say a single word
We always put a filter on
To try to cover up the flaws
And if we do it all for show
I think it’s time we let it go”
I know it’s no longer beach season, but the Lord painted this very distinct picture in my head as I was listening to the song:
Close your eyes and imagine you are at the beach. You have a shovel, a pail, and a sifter/filter. You love to collect rocks and shells from the ocean. You go into the water and pick up a handful of mud. You put it in your bucket and bring what you’ve collected back on shore.
You realize that all the rocks you have scooped up, are filthy and you wouldn’t dare show them to anyone because of how dirty they are. So you put them in your sifter/filter and wash them with fresh water. For the most part, the dirt is removed and most of them are shiny and clean. However, some of them still have dirt caked and stuck on them. But once you invest a little time cleaning and scrubbing them, they also join the others as clean and beautiful. They are ALL now worthy of being a gift to someone you love. But what happens if they fall and get dropped back in the mud? You have to wash them again, right?!
The Lord revealed to me in this story how we are like the rocks. We get super dirty with stuff from the world that tries to stick on us. Things of the flesh that the Lord wants to clean us of. Sometimes we have deep seeded sins and the only way we can remove them from our lives is to scrub them with God’s Word and let God do a work in our lives.
But one thing that is defining in our culture today is the fact that we think social media is so definitive of who we are. We are afraid to really be ourselves or show our flaws because we have to keep this persona of perfection. We hide our “dirty rocks” from people who genuinely want to help and care for us, but we think we aren’t worthy unless we are completely clean and shiny. So we try to clean ourselves up on our own. But what we realize is that the only thing that can really get the caked on dirt off of our lives is the blood of Jesus. His blood washes us and makes us clean. It is by His blood, our sins are washed away and we are given a new look.
Maybe there is something in your life that you aren’t very proud of. God already knows the things we try and hide from him and from the world. Don’t hide who you are. Ask God to help you figure out who you are in Christ and stand firm in that.
Just like the rocks you found on the beach that had mud stuck to them, those are things in our lives that only God can help us clean. He wants to help us scrub off all the junk so we can become a new creation in him and shine bright for Jesus.