TO THE GIRLS WHO DON'T LOVE THEMSELVES

"...But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." - 1 Peter 3:3-4

Dear girls,

When I take fitness classes at my gym, the biggest factor that decides where I stand is if I can see myself in the mirror or not. This is definitely something that I try to avoid, and I know that it's so awful that I unconsciously think this way. I've told myself this rule for so long that it's programmed into my brain: "Don't stand where you can see yourself because that's weird and gross, and you don't want to watch yourself awkwardly shuffle around as you try to figure out the moves."

Anyway, I was taking a class the other day and happened to look up, and saw a girl in the mirror that was about my size and looked somewhat like me. My first thought was: Good for her! She has the confidence to get onto a dance floor in the middle of the gym and dance her booty off because she wants to. You go, girl!

You can probably already guess that I was actually looking at myself before I realized it. As soon as I looked into my own eyes and recognized who I was, I instantly cringed and looked away. How sad is that? If anyone else had told me this story about themselves, I would be bawling my eyes out and crushing them into a long hug.

(Thankfully for you, I'm not in the business of looking for pity. Haha!)

There are far too many girls in this world that don't love themselves. They feel as if they aren't pretty enough or skinny enough to deserve their won appreciation. They tell themselves, "I'm not as smart as so-and-so," or "I can't sing as well as so-and-so," and then they think they aren't worthy of love. But that's just not true.

In the famous words of Meghan Trainor, "Every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top." Now, don't get me wrong - this singer's lyrics aren't nearly as important as the words of the Holy Word. I've found a few verses that I feel will demonstrate God's intentions for us as flawed humans:

Psalm 139:14 - "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well."

Ephesians 5:29 - "For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:"

Proverbs 19:8 - "He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good."

Genesis 9:6 - "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man."

You definitely (er, hopefully) would never go up to someone and say, "You're ugly, your eyes are too far apart, and you need to lose some weight." I even winced as I typed that out! If you care enough about other people to not insult them and judge then, why is it so hard to give yourself the same respect?

I could sit here all day and type endless verses where God talks about love. Even Mark 12:31 - "And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these." Now, some of you may be wondering how loving the people around you plays into loving yourself. Take note that the verse says "Love they neighbour as thyself." So, if you don't love yourself, how are you supposed to show God's love to your peers?

If God wanted you to think that you are ugly and fat and dumb and whatever other negative words you have used to describe yourself, He would've just thrown some body parts together and called it a person. But that's not what He did. He took special time and care in creating each and every person that walks this Earth, and that includes you, girly.

There are a million and one people out there that will be rude and hateful towards you. They will comment and jeer at you about your insecurities. They'll point out what they think are your flaws and call you names and mostly, they'll hurt your feelings. God tells us about this is Jeremiah 9:5 - "And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity."

No matter what you or anyone else tells you, you are perfect in God's eyes. He loves you, and that's all that matters. He loves your freckles or wide feet or messy hair or height or any other part of you that you might not be happy with. God says that you are His creation, and are worth all the love and affection in the world. If you deserve the love of the Creator, you are most definitely worth your own appreciation.

My challenge to you is this: learn to love and appreciate yourself. No, it won't be that easy of a task. I know that it's difficult and it takes time, but I assure that it's 100% worth it. You may not see the effects within a day, a week, or even a year. But when you look back at your life five years from now, you'll wonder what ever happened. You'll notice how much stronger and more confident and happy you are.

With love,

McKenzie

Image Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/girl-woods-trees-boots-31199/