A Powerful Pair

Loving yourself is not about being selfish, self-satisfied, or self-centered; it is about accepting your life – who you are, where you are, what you have been through, how you look – as a gift from God to be nurtured and shared as a blessing to others.

Here is a suggestion: instead of dwelling on your imperfections, your failings, or your mistakes, focus on your blessings and the contribution you can make, whether it’s a talent, knowledge, wisdom, creativity, hard work or a nurturing soul.

Here is a truth: You don’t have to live up to anyone else’s expectations. You can define your own version of who you are as you discover who God made you to be. Your gift to God is to become the best you that you can be … so find out who you are and don’t worry about or respond to who others expect you to be or what they expect you to do. Be you! Love you!

When you know who you are – who God created you to be – then you can believe in yourself, your own beauty and value as someone who can made a difference, someone who matters. It will be as if you shine from within and others will notice and be attracted to you, even like being with you. Then you can love them as you love yourself… and see them come to the Lord and become born again.

If you don’t shine from within because you don’t know or love yourself – it may be because you rely on others to validate you, to give you confidence, and to make you feel appreciated. But that is a sure road to disappointment because you must accept yourself first. The only important measure of your beauty and value as a person should be the one that comes from within – that you discover as you become whom God created you to be.

Self-acceptance and self-love are important but often misunderstood concepts these days. You should love yourself as a reflection of God’s love and as someone He put on this earth to make a unique difference and contribution.

So today – unleash a pair of powerful forces that so many are lacking in their lives: unconditional love and self-acceptance.