Me

 I am thankful…for…me.  Yep, I’m thankful for myself.  Hold on now! Before you start commenting and giving me the definition of “conceited”, “self-absorbed” and “egotistical” please, let me explain . Psalm 139:14 – I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.  I would like to take this post to praise and thank the Lord for me.  According to scripture, that is what the Psalmist said we are to do….praise Him because we are fearfully and wonderfully made…I am….and you are.  It is amazing to me how many Christians, especially the lady folk, are bound up in their own insecurities.  Prisoners to what they believe to be their own short comings…their own imperfections.  Women, and men too, who think they are inadequate because they weren’t popular in high school, or because they aren’t built like a supermodel or perhaps they have never felt accomplished, pretty or successful.  If Christ died to free us, why do so many Christians live in their own bondage?  They willingly put on these shackles of inadequacy and spend life feeling like they aren’t special…necessary…amazing.  My friend, how contrary is this to scripture?!  Is your God the same as mine?  Does His word not say that WE are fearfully and wonderfully made?  That WE are made in His image?  That He created man and woman and said that it was VERY good?  Then shake off those chains of bondage and prepare to be amazed…you are wonderfully made….you…are amazing.  Made in the image of an almighty Savior who knew you before you were in your mother’s womb and created you with purpose, in His image and with grace just a breath away.  Let’s forgo all the amazing science of the human body…we could spend days on the immune system, heart and capabilities of the human body, let’s just say we all agree that “God does a body good”!  Let’s talk about the insecurities we have.  Do you think you are ugly? Plain Jane? Homely?  Do you think you are unattractive? Do you wonder why your spouse is even with you?  Do you think that those extra pounds have destined you for being in the “ordinary and frumpy” category?  Have you decided that those scars from a surgery, accident or acne have taken away your right to feel beautiful?  To all those questions, I answer a loud and resounding “NO WAY, JOSE!”  Are you kidding me?  Saddlebags are robbing you from the freedom of enjoying the Almighty’s wonderful creation of you?  Scars from cancer surgeries are stealing the joy you can have in knowing that our Creator fashioned you into this person perfected for a specific purpose?  It’s time to break free, my friend…time to drop those insecurities.  You may can stand to go on a diet…nothing wrong with making your temple as healthy and fit as possible, but stop the “I would be happy, or feel pretty or feel attractive if I….” (fill in the blank).  You are amazing the way you are.  I know I am.  How could I not be?  I have a scar that runs from the top of my right ear, down my neck and around to my collar bone.  It doesn’t make me feel ugly…how can something like a scar make me feel like something I’m not?  God didn’t make me ugly…I’m beautiful.  Maybe everyone is not of that opinion, but I am, my husband is…and my Creator certainly thinks I am.  I love my sense of humor; I laugh at all my jokes….God made my sense of humor, for a purpose.  I love that I am short, the cute miniskirts that no one could wear to school, I was always able to wear…they usually came right below my knee (perfect for TTU standards).  I am daily impressed at how I can draw the perfect eyebrows and apply my fake lashes…and look amazing.  Cancer may have taken them, but Revlon lets me put them right back!  I love my legs….from the
knees down my legs are AH-MAZING!  Put my feet in a pair of stilettos and whoa Nelly, my calves put Heidi Klum to shame!  If only there was a high demand for calf and ankle models, I would be on the runway, baby!  I love my ability to enjoy life and laugh at just about anything…there are just so many things that make me uniquely me and make me special.  You, have your own unique combination!  Are you an amazing listener?  Do you have gorgeous skin that requires no makeup? Do you have that amazing blonde hair I always wanted?  You see, I too once lived in bondage.  I saw beautiful women all around me that I wished I could be like.  Amazed at their freedom to appreciate themselves and enjoy how God made them.  It wasn’t until I drowned out the voices of society and those that wanted to point out my inadequacies, that I really started understanding what God had given me.  I was always too fat, too short, too…never perfect enough.  For years of my adult life I lost myself somewhere in the pit of my own insecurities.  Do you know what I realized one day?  I was robbing God of praise that was due Him for the person that He made me.  I chose to believe He had failed when it came to making me….and that just wasn’t true.  So, my challenge to you is this:  What are you thankful for about yourself?  What is the unique combination of special that God gave you?  If nobody has told you, my friend, you are beautiful.  You are made in the image of an Almighty God.  You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Drop those chains of insecurity and live in the freedom of knowing that you are amazing.  We all have areas to work on, areas we may struggle…try thinking of it like this. If you go to Niagara Falls you will have to wear a poncho because the overspray will drench you, you will need boots so you don’t slip on the extra water it produces, and you will not be able to carry on a normal conversation with those around you because the water is deafening…but, nevertheless, it is an amazing breath taking sight.  You may not be the perfect weight, you may have a quick temper, you may need to work on your sharp tongue…but you are an amazing sight to behold.  So, grab that pink boa, throw on a pair of strappy heels or sequined flats and put a flower in your hair…and start resting in the knowledge that you are the best you that God ever created! (Men, please feel free to abstain from the pink boa, strappy heels and putting a flower in your hair…unless you just want to!)