Excuse Me While I Step on This Soap Box…

The grade school kids here on the property are on winter holiday (still getting used to this whole opposite hemisphere dealio) for three weeks, so during this time I get to spend 1.5 hours with each house of kids every day. I work with a group of 5 girls, then have a bible study with a couple teen girls, and then work with two of the boys.

With the teen girls I am doing the Yellow Roses group study which is a really good bible study that focuses on all of the pressures that young women face.

As I talked with the girls, we each opened up about what things we didn’t like about ourselves, what things we would change if we could. Each of the girls had something different to say. I saw a lot of myself in these girls, and when I talked to them I was saying things that I, myself, need to be reminded of. I talked to them about how detrimental it can be to compare yourself to others. No matter what, you can always find someone that has a better something than you. You have to learn to love yourself the way you are, flaws and all.

Here’s where I got on my soap box…

God: this amazing being, all knowing, all powerful, creator of all the universe created you. He made you, and you know what? When he was done, he said “It is good”. If you’re good enough for God that means you are good enough for anyone. Every time you look in the mirror, pick yourself apart, and find all the bad things about you, you are telling God that he didn’t do a good enough job.

It’s like looking at a painting that someone considers to be their masterpiece, and saying  “I think your proportions are a little off, here.” or “I like So and So’s version of this much better”.

My most favorite verse in the entire Bible is Psalm 139:14a
 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

It was David who wrote those words. We all know his story:

When God sent Samuel to find a new King he went to the house of Jesse to find him. Samuel saw Jesse’s oldest son this big burly handsome guy and Samuel thinks This has got to be the one God wants as King.

Nope. Try again.

Ok, more literally he says: “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)

Samuel goes through Jesse’s entire lineage, each time God is saying Negative, Ghostrider. That’s not him either.

So Samuel asks Jesse if he has any more sons. Jesse said his youngest son, but he was tending to his sheep. It was him! The youngest son of all, a boy. David.

This is the same boy that later defeats the giant Goliath. One little boy, one pebble, and one sling sends a 10 ft. tall giant crashing to the ground.

God knew what was in David’s heart. He was not worried about his appearance because he knew all that David was capable of.

So it’s not about how pretty you are, how tall, how handsome, how strong. It’s about how you value yourself. You are worth so much. Remember that you are created in God’s image and you are good. You were fearfully and wonderfully made by Him. With God’s love you are strong enough to conquer anything.

What is your giant?