Sometimes when I look at my girls, I am in awe of how free they are. I know the same could probably be said about you and your kids. There appears to be nothing about themselves that they do not like. They can look into a mirror, smile, and not see one single flaw. They do not try to be anyone else because they love who they are.
However, over time, we often find that we have lost a lot of the freedom, the smile, and the joy our kids have. It has gotten harder for us to just be how we are and like what we see.
Yet one thing that God has been showing me lately is that it may be hard, but not impossible. God created us all uniquely different and that should be celebrated. It is okay for you to just be you because you are the best at being you.
You Can Only Be You
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
Psalms 139:14 (ESV)
This is one of the most quoted scriptures we know. Probably like you, I thought I was striving to live up to that scripture, but found that I was not. When I actually look at the scripture, I am surprised to find that this one scripture has two parts.
I know “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made”, but not “your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Then once I read it fully, I realized where a lot of us may be falling short.
If you know ‘full well’ that you are fearfully and wonderfully made, then why do you find it so hard to be just who God created you to be? If you were created to just be you, why do you find yourself often trying so hard to be someone else?
Whether it is like a friend of yours, someone you follow on social media, or someone you see on television who just seems to have everything together and the ‘perfect‘ life.
The truth is no one is perfect and the only person you should try to be is who God created you to be, you. Another thing that can often cause us to fall short of truly living out this scripture is comparing ourselves to those people.
Don’t Compare Yourself
Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves.
1 Corinthians 10:12a (ESV)
When you compare yourself to others, especially other wives and mothers, you will always come up short. When we compare the best of someone else with our worst, there is no way for us to feel wonderful about ourselves.
Yet the truth is, we are not supposed to compare ourselves to anyone else. We also should not try to live up to anyone else’s standard.
Our goal is to be Christ-like and live up to the standards He has created for us. This cannot be done while comparing someone else’s highlight reel to your real life. This can only be accomplished by embracing who God created you to be. Knowing full well how wonderful you really are, working on your shortcomings, and working within your strengths.
Work Within Your Strengths
God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.
1 Peter 4:10 (NLT)
We all have gifts, talents, and abilities. A part of being your best you is learning to work within your strengths. We all have been wonderfully made, yet we do not do everything wonderfully; that is okay. I may not be able to compete and win the next episode of Chopped, but you give me a recipe and a little bit of time, you will want to eat at my house again.
I have no problem keeping my three girls alive and well on a daily basis, but you give me a pet fish and it will not last a week. I know I’m not alone in this. God has given us all gifts, just not the same ones. So being the best you requires embracing the gifts God has given you and appreciate all the wonderful things about you.
Being just who God created you to be in a world that wants us all to be the same, may not be easy but possible. Embracing how fearfully and wonderfully you were made is the best type of self-care you could do for yourself. It is totally okay for you to just be you.
I’d love to hear how you embrace just being you in the comments!
My mother always said love in marriage is nice but it’s really a business relationship and you gotta make sure you’re compatible!
Love this! Being comfortable with yourself and embracing how God made you to be is huge! Blogging has been a great way to find who I am creatively and to find the voice God gave me!
Thank you for writing this!!
Beautiful post – and a message we all need to hear again and again until it permeates deep.
I loved reading this post! It is a topic I have been thinking a lot about recently. Comparison really is the thief of joy. I try to surround myself with people who are authentic and comfortable being themselves because it inspires me to do the same. 🙂
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I love that verse form 1 Peter. We need to identify what is uniquely beautiful about each of us and use that for good! Thanks for sharing this post <3
Yes, Kelly!! Using our own gifts, talents, and abilities for good is such a beautiful thing! ?
Great post Ayanna. The comparison game seems heavier than ever. Thank you for the wonderful reminder to be the person God created us to be.
Thanks, Annette, and that is so true. I think with the constant social media access we have to other people’s lives, it easier now to fall into the comparison game. Yet being mindful of our own blessings and the wonderful God has placed within us, will allow us to keep a better perspective when looking at other people’s lives.
We are always looking at what others look like, wear, bigger house, fancy car, more money and the list goes on. Comparing is a sin.
So true, Candy. Looking at others to see the possibilities and encouragement to continue to push forward and work hard is not sin. When we start to look at our blessings as less than, then we start to fall down a slippery slope.
Realizing and remaining solid concerning our identity is oh so important. Great scriptures to share here. How do I embrace being me? It took a Holy Spirit moment of realizing I didn’t love me – and go figure, that happened in my 40’s! After that I recited PS 139:14 over and to myself in the mirror. It was all God and certainly good. Enjoyed visiting via By His Grace Bloggers.
That is an awesome testimony, Kristi. The Holy Spirit reveals so much to us when we take the time to be still, just listen and allow God’s Word to truly speak to us. Loving yourself and embracing that love is so important. Looking into the mirror and really loving what you see is such a beautiful thing. Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you will not be a stranger. ?
That trap of comparison is so treacherous! This is an absolutely wonderful reminder!!
Thanks so much, Patricia, and that is so true. Comparison can me a trap and something we have to all be mindful of so we do not fall into it.
This is awesome, my friend. I struggle with this so much and need all of the reminders I can get.
blessings to you,
the How-to Guru
My daughter loves taking selfies and whenever her eye catches a mirror she goes straight to it! I agree with everything your saying because I can 100% say BEEN THERE DONE THAT!!!!
This is a beautiful message. It’s so easy to lose sight of the fact that we were each created perfectly by the Divine. We shouldn’t try to become anyone else, just the best versions of ourselves.
I wrote about this today, too! I LOVE your reminder to be Christ-like. What a beautiful reminder
Awesome post!
Comparing ourselves with others will definitely keep us trapped. It kills joy and has people thinking they aren’t good enough–
I stand on the scripture, “Psalm 139:14” ..For we are all fearfully and wonderfully made. 😉
This is such a beautiful post. All moms and women in general need to read this. It’s so hard not compare ourselves to other moms and wives, but if we can avoid it, it makes life a lot more pleasant.
Thanks so much, Erin, for your kind words. Avoiding the tendency to compare si definitely hard, but so important. And it’s so true that if we can do that we can enjoy life so much more.
This was a beautiful and timely read. Thank you. I needed to hear this today!
Thank you, Steph. I’m glad that this was able to speak to you and encourage you. Seeing ourselves as God sees us is so important.