Worth

You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you. Song of Solomon 4:7

If you were the only person on earth, Jesus would have died for you alone.

He loves you that much.

When He created you, He smiled.

He created you exactly as He wanted. And He doesn’t make mistakes.

Don’t like your hair?  Your body isn’t just right?

Well, what actually is ‘just right’ anyway?

What standard are you using?  The ever changing worldly standard of beauty?

Because the world’s measure of beauty is completely unreliable.  It evolves with the changing of the wind.

One minute bangs are in, the next minute everyone is growing them out. Short skirts or long flowing gowns.  Skinny jeans or bell bottoms.  Flipped out hair or long straight locks.

You must be taller.

Really?

Well, there’s not much a person can do about that.

We can color our hair, slightly alter our bodies through diet and exercise, adorn ourselves with any type of cloth, but we can’t do a darn thing about the height God decided we should have.

Sure we can wear heels, and yes, I do love them! But heels are clothes.

There is absolutely nothing we can do on our own to alter our height.  We must accept how tall or short we are.

Are you more worthy of life and love if you are a certain height?

No.

Are you worth more if you are a size 6 vs. size 12?

Absolutely not.

Yes, we must take care of ourselves, but your worth is not measured by the size on your tag or the numbers on a scale.

Don’t believe me?  You should.

Your worth is measured by God and He loves you very much.  He created you and you are perfect in His eyes.

Beautiful.

Stop comparing your hair or body to others.

From the balcony of heaven it won’t matter what your jean size was.

Why waste a moment with our short time on earth obsessed with things that don’t matter in light of eternity?

Society has bought a lie that our outward appearance is everything.

E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G.

And we are no different.

We pour our energy into making ourselves look better.

On the outside.

We waste hours and years comparing ourselves to an impossible standard and waste still more years being unhappy with the way we were created.

Completely unhappy.

And why?

We have tricked ourselves into believing our worth is measured in numbers.

Height.  Weight.  Dress size.  Shoe size.

No more.

Take back those years.

Purpose in your mind that you are loved the way God created you and you will no longer allow society to demand you change.

Hold your head high and love yourself the way God loves you.

The way God made you.

After all, God doesn’t make mistakes – His first mistake was not you.

Every time a thought pops into your brain of unworthiness or every time a feeling washes over you causing you to think you are not good enough, thank God for your healthy brain, arms that work, legs that walk.

Thank Him for your painted toenails, soft hair, and eyes that see.

Your curly eyelashes, soft skin, and precious hands.

Focus on how God sees you.

Perfect.  Loved.  Daughter of the King.

A precious jewel who was worth dying for.

Jesus took care of your eternal life.

Live like that matters.

And smile.

Because you are beautiful.

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Photos by Ria Alfana, Saad Chaudhry, Tim Mossholder, Kelly Sikkema, & Ryan ‘O’ Niel on Unsplash

 

Details of Life

The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Psalm 37:23

God has blessed me in so many ways.

Every time I turn around, He shows up.

 How?

Where?

Details.

He’s in the details of my life.

He’s in the sweet face of the kindergartner who announces to the class, “My teacher has such a pretty face”.

He’s in the email from a new friend encouraging me to seek God’s face for my life.

He’s in the flowers sent from dear high school friends I just ‘happened’ to recently see after way too many years.

He’s in the job I now have, because He prompted me to get more education and a teaching license knowing I would soon need it.

He’s in my grandfather’s voice on the phone asking how I am and if I’ve been on a hot date lately.

He’s in my son’s voice when he asks me how my day was.

He’s in the math student who declares that I am his favorite part of math class.

God is here.

And He is there with you, too.

He’s here in the small things and big.

When He’s in the smaller details of life, you have to notice them.

Pay attention.

Notice how He has everything all laid out for you.

Everything.

He has a plan and all you have to do is trust Him.

Trust.

Is that hard?  Boy, is it – but it’s all we can do.

Besides, what other option is there if we decide not to trust him?

Worry.

Obsessive detail planning.

Create massive burdens to plan and execute our future.

No thanks.

I’d rather have the God of the universe, the Creator of ALL things plan my future.

He knows the beginning from the end.

He knows all of my options and fits my future together like a fine puzzle.

 I can only imagine the stress of trying to fit my puzzle pieces together on my own.

Besides, I don’t have the finished picture.

And heck, I’d probably lose a piece or two.

Blame it on my sweet dog.

Anyhow, know who has the picture of our puzzle?

God.

Because He designed our puzzle.

And it’s not a puzzle to Him.

Sigh.

Talk about details.