The other day I was looking through my bookcase for a specific book. I never found it, but I came across a book that I had picked up some time ago. It's Leo Buscaglia's Born for Love, Reflections on Loving. I vaguely remember reading through some of this book before sticking it on the shelf, where it has sat for years.
So I opened it up and started reading through it. It's just a collection of short reflections on the subject of love. Some are kinda cheesy, but some are pretty profound. I want to share one that instantly resonated with me because it's something we try to teach the teens in our youth group.
You are enough
"You are the perfect you. No one can be a better you, no matter how much they so desire. This does not mean that you don't have the potential to become more. It simply means that you are not in competition with anyone. When you truly accept the fact that you have all you need to become fully you, you free yourself from a self-created, artificial identity. To be someone you are not take inordinate amounts of energy that could better go toward a more productive activity.
Since you are one of a kind, the message here is clear. You have something to offer that will never again be possible. To devalue this is not only a tragedy for you, but, in fact, for the world."
But as I was reading this, I realized how many adults struggle with this concept. And not because they don't want to love who they are. There are so many reasons why we may not like, let alone, love ourselves. I think it takes time for most of us to come to a place where we're okay with who we are, and maybe we never quite get totally there. As with everything else in our lives, it's a process.
Something that has helped me is something I heard years ago; God doesn't make mistakes. So when God formed me in my mother's womb, some 48-49 years ago, He knew exactly what He was doing. He decided what I was going to look like, what my personality was going to be like, my strengths, my weaknesses, my abilities, my flaws - and all of it was His perfect design. Surely not my idea of a perfect design, but His. And who am I to argue with that.
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link of the day:
http://www.magmypic.com/
11 comments:
I really loved reading that. Too many people hate themselves..it's so hard not to in this world - but those words were very true.
Thanks for sharing.
Oh, sweet friend...this is the longing of my heart for my boys. We teach them that God made them just as they are...and loves them just as He made them. It is amazing how this effects their responses when being corrected/disciplined. Their hearts are softened and they are so much more accepting of the correction.
If only we as adults could grasp this as we look at others. I think it would help us to love others so much better!
Wow! What a great quote! Posts like this are why I love coming here. I gave you an award today on Double Nickel.
Jennifer
Love it! "Who am I to argue with that?" That is something I'm going to remember for a long time!
Hey, thanks for stopping by my blog and lending some support. I'm so excited about all the new bloggy friends I'm making through this whole ordeal!!
What a great post, too...so true!!
So true. I don't think we can truly learn to love ourselves until we realize the love of God. I use to watch Buscaglia on TV years ago. He not only had wonderful things to say but a very winning presence. Hadn't thought of him in years. Thanks for the reminder and this good word.
Susan
I loved reading this. My daughter asks me about love all the time and her most frequent question is "Is it OK to love myself?" to which I always emphasize that without it, she will never truly know love.
What a wonderful post and exactly what I needed to read today. Thank you.
This post was so good, so heartfelt, maybe my favorite thing to read today ( and I have DONE some blog hopping today!). Thank you for this! Jennifer
It is easy to find things to dislike about oneself. If we could just get past our physical and see the incredible internal, we might be a bit easier to please.
As I get older, I have to laugh about my physical, which is not much like it used to be. I was joking with my oldest daughter that it was nice of God to give me good ankles, since He didn't feel it necessary to give me good hair, skin or a good figure (well, children and my love of food didn't help either). She sighed and said, she was glad God gave her good hair, because she sure didn't think her ankles were that great!:)
The girls and I are working toward memorizing Ps 139 for this very purpose. I want to instill in them at a young age that they were created by the Creator of the world for an amazing and unique purpose.
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