I know I can't speak for everyone, but I bet if you're like me, many of you just read the title of this blog & thought "No Doubt" or "I so wish I could believe that" or "If only (fill in the blank) knew this." My heart aches because I think we, as a society, expect perfection from imperfect people & unfortunately there is absolutely no hope that comes from this expectation!
My husband & I have a set of 8 year old identical twin daughters. When they were in 3 year old pre-school, another 3 year old girl in their class went up to one of our daughters & said very matter-of-factly, "your legs are ugly" & then turned around & left. Although I didn't hear exactly what was said, I knew it wasn't something nice when I saw my little girl look down at her legs & begin to cry! The look I saw in our daughters eyes was beyond devastating! Not only because someone said something unkind, but because she believed what the other little girl said to her. At that moment, my world stopped! My husband & I knew it was going to be a daily battle to teach our girls about self-confidence & identity because we live in a world where the "world" tends to tell us what we are supposed to look like & who we are supposed to be. And while we happily accepted the challenge, we didn't think we would have to jump into damage control this soon! (And because of those unkind words, our daughter refused to wear shorts for 2 years (no lie!)!!!!) Even though that event happened 5 years ago, this particular twin has continued to struggle with her identity. I can assure you though, we pour scripture into (& over) both of our daughters & are intentional about reminding them that God created them with a HUGE purpose & because of that they can walk in full confidence knowing that God created them in His image! Not because it sounds nice & might add a little hope for the time being, but because it is the bedrock of who we are!
Psalm 139:13-14 says "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." If we could just grab a hold of this truth & believe it, I think we would be able to see that WE are so much more than WE give ourselves credit for! My prayer for you is that you would be able to begin to see yourself through our Creators eyes & not the world's expectations! God has given us the tools & ability to walk in confidence, we just have to figure out how to give ourselves grace to do it!
Beginning today, Valerie's newest Canvas Art Print titled "She Was So Much More" will be ON SALE! 8x10's are $10 (reg. $15) & 5x7's are $5 (reg. $10) through tomorrow night at 11:59 pm! These make perfect Valentine's Day gifts, birthday gifts or even graduation gifts so go ahead & grab a few while they're hot off the presses!
We hope you have a fabulous week! Make sure you check back next Monday for Valerie's newest Canvas Art Print release!
Blessings!
~ Jill