LOVE YOURSELF

It was parent-teacher conferences this week and I couldn’t wait to hear what they had to say about my sweet 4 year old daughter. “She needs to work on completing her jobs faster. It takes her all day to finish one thing. She’s afraid to make a mistake even though she typically knows the right answer. She constantly needs approval for her work.” Hmm, it all sounded familiar. I remember my first grade teacher telling my parents that I took a long time to complete my work because I was a perfectionist and it always had to be right. That was 30 years ago, surely by now, I would have grown? Sadly, no. I’m still that kid looking for approval from others that my work is acceptable. Even now, my friend posts the blogs I create because I would never be satisfied with what I’ve written. So, how am I going to teach my four year old to overcome her fears when I’m just learning to overcome mine? The way I see her, she is beautiful and perfect and any mistake she makes is simply adorable to me. Just like the other day when she said, “I wish I could have met the people that were born first – Madam and Steve.” (Referring to Adam & Eve). Her sweet innocence brought the biggest smile to my face and I chuckled a few days later as I recalled her remark.

We want the best for our children. We want them to be brave and courageous, kind and loving, healthy and smart, basically any characteristic that fills their life with joy and allows them the freedom to be who they’re capable of becoming. As parents, we don’t want anything negative to interfere with their path to success. So we reinvent ways to show them how much they’re loved, to help them see that they’re worthy, valuable, and priceless in our eyes. We can tell them and show them over and over again but in the end, they have to experience it for themselves. They have to know in their heart that they are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” – Psalm 139:14

It doesn’t matter how old they are, they will always be our children. I think that’s the way God looks at us, just as it would seem crazy if we saw our child smoking a cigarette, we are God’s children and it makes Him just as sad when He sees His beautiful child, regardless of their age, doing something that might cause them harm or prevent them from being all they were created to be.

There will be countless individuals in this world waiting to tear you down. If you don’t love yourself, the love of someone else will never be enough. You either won’t believe in your heart that they truly love you or that you are even capable of being loved. The remedy on the candy heart that I’m giving you, my Valentine… start believing in yourself and know that you were created for a purpose that only you can accomplish. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t look pretty to someone else. Love yourself enough to quit whatever’s keeping you from reaching your full potential and embrace who you are today.

What will you choose to love about yourself?

#psalm13914 #love #smoking #cigarette #quittingsmoking #godschildren