Unique and Rare Art...You, That Is.

     As a mom, I remember those first moments when my children made their appearance in this world and took their first beautiful breath. It was a time of wonder and a time of awe; to think that God created these amazing human beings and allowed me to be their mom - purely overwhelming.

     Also as a mom, to hear these beautiful children of mine at any point in their day degrade themselves as ugly, fat, stupid, dumb, disgusting, etc., hurts my heart more than I can describe. If only they could see themselves through my eyes...

And there it is...

  If only we could see ourselves through God's eyes.

     When I was much younger, I felt the pressure to be thin, to be pretty, to look a certain way in order for others to like me or approve of me. I felt that if I didn't look the right way, then I wasn't the way I needed to be. I have always had a strong drive as a perfectionist, and in college this drove me into my first experience with a full-blown eating disorder. In the years that followed, I struggled off and on with the same thing, always rooted in that continued drive for perfection and the need to get approval from other people. 

     What I failed to really comprehend, even though I knew it deep down, was that there is only One that I need to worry about pleasing, and that is GOD. There is such a difference in head knowledge and really, actually believing something. I knew the Word, had heard it all of my life, but believing that I was actually fearfully and wonderfully made...well, that was another story! 

     I think now about the many times I have run myself down, talked bad about myself, insulted my body or the way I look, complained about my crooked teeth or whatever else I didn't think measured up; and as I think about all of those terrible things I said, I am ashamed because I know it grieved the heart of my Father.

     My cousin, Shelley, shared a really great post on Facebook a few days ago, and I would like to share a bit of it with you:

"I was in the car yesterday. A long ride, so I had a lot of time for reflection. Boom, it hit me. I have felt so negatively about my body for SO long. I hide it. I make fun of it. I make excuses for it. So, of course it's going to react with pain, weight gain, fatigue; it's reacting to how I feel about it..."

     WOW. What an eye opener. The Word of God says that as a man thinks in his heart, so he is. I would never want my kids to feel about themselves the way I have felt about myself. I do not like to hear them talk about themselves in a way that describes them as any less than who God has created them to be! 

     Well, about a week or so ago, my mom brought me a shirt that she had ordered for me from the Tennessee District Assemblies of God Women's Movement, and it is absolutely beautiful. It is not just a shirt, but a beautiful reminder. It is the truth of who I am in Christ. You may not be able to read the words well in the picture, but it says, "valued, worthy, cherished, chosen, adored," all in beautiful golden lettering. I put that shirt on today and had my daughter take a picture of me in it. This is me. Just me. No filter. No airbrushing. No girdle. No Spanx. Perfectly imperfect me. 

     Today is a new day, a fresh foot forward, and a wake-up call for me. As I struggled with a friend recently over standing in the middle of a picture instead of on the edge so that I couldn't be seen as well, I realized that is no longer who I want to be. I want to show the love of the Lord to everyone, but it is not up to me to please everyone. For one thing, that will just never happen. But, just as I want my children to see the value that I see in them, I accept the value that my heavenly Father has placed in me. I am a priceless treasure to Him, as are you.

     So the next time you see me, I may have lost weight, and I may not have. My focus is to be the healthiest me that I can be, to be a good steward of this body and the life that the Lord has given me. My focus is to reach people for the cause of Christ, to tell them that Jesus loves them with a love they cannot even comprehend. 

     So go ahead. Take a look in the mirror. Look yourself in the eyes. Now, instead of rolling your eyes or cringing at what you see, say to yourself, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made." Take the words that are on this shirt and tape them on your mirror, paint them on your wall, write them in your journal and post them by your computer at work, but most of all, remember, that you are Valued, Worthy, Cherished, Chosen, and truly Adored. You are a child of the most High God, a child of the King.