You Are Perfect (Just As You Are)

Over the last few weeks, I've been listening to one of my children complain about self image. "I'm too chunky...I'm so clumsy...I'm not very smart." Each time I respond with compliments trying to disprove these negative thoughts. The other day I become a little frustrated with those comments.  It seemed my words were ineffective. With lots of emotion I expressed, "don't you hear me? I see you as strong, smart, kind, wonderful, caring, loving. I see you as perfect-- just the way you are. I love you very much just the way you are." All I got was a little nod. 

"I love you very much just the way you are."

How do we convince our children that the standards of the world are not the measurements for success and beauty? How do we overcome the lies the enemy? How do we combat superficial, fake culture? While seeking for those answers, I felt a nudge in my spirit about how God sees us. He sees us struggle with self worth, and He hears us speak down about ourselves. He knows our thoughts about feeling insecure. 

All the while He is right there saying, "don't you hear me? I see you as perfect! I love you very much just the way you are!" Yes, we have failed. Yes, we have fallen. Yes, we have shortcomings and wounds. But to your Heavenly Father, you are a beautiful, perfect mother. Allow yourself to rejoice in the victories and celebrate the blessings. Don't let the negative thoughts sneak in to beat you down. 

"I love you very much just the way you are."

I think the answer to the questions I asked earlier is this: live in the Light. We must let our children see that we are confident and content in way God created us. We are sure of His grace and mercy. They will be convinced they are beautiful and cherished as they see us as mothers live and walk with the assurance that God loves us just the way we are. 

I Peter 2:9 says, "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light"

Next time you are tempted to think negatively about yourself, think of how you love and cherish your own children just the way they are, because that's how God sees you!

"Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee." Song of Solomon 4:7

Like a Flower In the Rain

If you pick a flower from a plant, it doesn't take much force to pluck the petals from the stem, yet during a torrential storm, the petals take the beating from the pelting rain without falling apart. Droplets fall thousands of feet from the clouds above mixed with wind and air pressure attacking the earth with an almost immeasurable force which can even feel somewhat stinging to bare human skin. So the observation how beautiful flowers tolerate such pressure is intriguing. 

I'm not a gardener, so my interest in a beaten-up, post-storm flowerbed led to some research. Here's what I found:

"Heavy rain damage on plants may leave them looking like they’ve been flattened to within an inch of their lives, but if you take a closer look at stems and branches, you’ll notice something amazing — most of those rain damaged parts are bent, not broken. Your plants may look terrible, but their flexibility saved them from a monstrous rain storm. If instead they remained rigid in the face of such an intense beating, their tissues would have broken or cracked, causing important transportation pathways to be severed. 

A few days to a week after a damaging storm, your plants will perk back up. Sometimes flowers are damaged and leaves slightly torn, but your plants will replace these injured areas much faster than seems possible if you leave them alone to do it. Don’t try to prop plants that are rain-flattened, since this can lead to additional damage. Let them be and watch them come back from their beating." (www.gardeningknowhow.com) 

Watching a harsh summer rain pound down on a beautiful, delicate bed of colorful flowers can really serve as a powerful reminder for us: 

We might get knocked down, but we will recover. We might be bent, but we are not broken. 

Even though our situation "may look terrible," being flexible, or moldable in the the Potter's hands, will allow us to withstand the pressure of the storm. If we are rigid, or bitter, we could become quite broken in a storm, hindering our growth in God. 

As a mother, we will watch our children go through storms. Often we want to jump in and save them from the beating, but sometimes that's not what God intends. We must allow God's process to take place. 

And even though our children may be damaged and slightly torn from the storms of life, if we trust the Creator and leave them in God's hands, they will heal and come back from that beating! We don't have to worry if they are broken beyond repair. We don't have to prop them up and fix their situation. 

"I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing." Ezekiel 34:26

Let the natural rain, and the beauty it brings remind you that storms bring forth blessing! 

The rain will come, we just have to trust God's design for growth in our lives. Like a flower in the rain.