beautiful girl you were made to do hard things so believe in yourself
When you start the race, you go in knowing and believing that you will be challenged in more ways than you can believe. As a girl, I know I am not alone in thinking that I was not good enough nor do I fit this mold that is a beautiful young woman, heck I am sure boys struggle with being perfect too! I assume that all my talents and characteristic are just like everyone else’s but they are better. In all honesty that is insanely rude to our Father, I am saying that when he gives me talents that they aren’t good enough or that when he created me that he made a mistake. When he came to earth to walk among us he was human he died on the cross for our sins because he loved us, loved us so much that he made everyone and knew the sins that we would commit.
Last month our host Gracie asked us to pray and think about something we could give to the Lord seeing how it is His birthday. As I sat and thought about this, it was hard for me to figure out what to give; should I forgive those who have hurt me deeply and work on restoring those relationships, do I work on a specific relationship in my family, or do I work on myself?
Why not all three?
That’s what I decided, among other things, I would work on forgiving others, learn my family’s full stories and loving myself; truly accepting my flaws and loving who I am. I want to see the beauty in me that the Lord see, that those around me see, and that my family has built in me. Heck I look at others and I think freckles, stretch marks, tattoos, bruises, birthmarks, and scars are seriously the coolest thing. We all started as this blank canvas and look where we are now. This evidence that we’ve lived and may have sat in the sun too long and tripped up a few times and even designed and or created an image or quote and loved it so much that you made it a permanent part of you!
How is that not amazing?
How can I not see all those same things in myself?
I have freckles all over my shoulders, face, and currently taking over my body! That makes my heart joyful, I love my freckles and I love that they are a part of me. I want to think about every part of myself in that way and rejoice even in the parts I see as flawed. Being grateful for where I am, I am not perfect I am a flawed human and amazingly enough so is everyone else, I am not alone in that. The lord made us all different just like snowflakes. Millions and millions of people all so different with their own stories and talents and no one can replace us or change that. Our stories are what has made us, and yes there are parts that we may not like or would rather have skipped over but often the scene that we wish we could skip are the ones that make our stories come full circle.
really though think about it, in a week how often do you tell yourself some lie……
I am not pretty, I am not qualified, I am not intelligent, or I can’t accomplish something, simple lies that really do mess up our mind sets. They are not true, you don’t look like her or work like him but you make a difference being who you are and if you are always so focused on him, her, or them, then when will you focus on the amazing person you are! Declare the truth!!! Declare that you are talented and you are an amazing creation, yes, you make mistakes but you are not a mistake! You can’t expect to be perfect, it truly is a fight you’ve gotta forfeit.
This year I am challenging myself and all of you to learn to let others love you just the way you – regardless of the flaws I think I have or as unattractive as I often feel. It’s sad how often we believe that we must hide all the parts that are broken, out of fear that those around us are incapable of loving what is less than perfect. It’s like believing that sunlight is incapable of entering a broken window and illuminating a dark room.
