Can you look in the mirror and say to yourself that you are pretty, or handsome, as the case may be? I found several years ago that it is not that easy. Oh, sometimes I could think it, but trying to say it aloud was a difficult task. I also tried to face myself in the mirror and say some good things about me. I thought I had a healthy self-image, but the challenge of the task made me rethink how I looked at myself.
I am taking lessons from Girlfriend. She looks in the mirror and giggles and smiles. Then I say something like "Look at that pretty, pretty Princess!" which creates even more giggles. Sometimes she turns away, but that is all part of the game. She knows that will make me say she is a pretty, pretty, Princess all the more!
The other day as I was combing her hair, I asked her how she would like me to fix it. There have been times when she preferred two pigtails to one, or a ponytail on the side instead of the back, etc. On this day she looked up at me and said, "Pretty!"
I responded, "You just want your hair done pretty?" She nodded adamantly. Once finished, she looked in the mirror for approval. "Pretty, Pretty!" she said.
I grew up in a home where my mother thought it a sin, apparently, to think highly of oneself. She not only did not make any attempts to tell me I was pretty, but she pooh-poohed anyone else who did. She feared pride more than anything. I realize now, that she had no idea of what pride is, nor how God intended us to use it.
He is proud of us. He made us just as we are! I think He gets the same types of feelings for us that I get as a grandma, when Girlfriend giggles and calls herself a pretty princess! I feel great!
I have, since my childhood, learned to think highly of myself. Even the Bible does not say not to think highly of yourself...it says not to think MORE highly than you ought to! And if you read the rest of it, you will find that you ought to think pretty highly of yourself. You are made in God's image. You are thought highly of by Him! You are seated in heavenly places! Wow! We girls ARE princesses, daughters of the King of Kings!
Regardless of how you feel about God or religion, you have good reason to be proud of yourself. I know pride has been the downfall of many people, men and women alike. And pride has brought about lies and pain. But, I wonder if those people built up all that false pride because down deep they really did not like themselves?
I think pride is a lot less fearful thing than self-abasement. A realistic approach to oneself takes courage. Admitting our faults can sometimes be easier than admitting our strengths. Perhaps it is because the power of our strengths scares us and places responsibilities and accountability on us. I know some people who readily admit their strengths and try to hide their weaknesses. But, often, later in life, they discover they really did not know themselves as well as they thought they did.
Take a look in the mirror. Who do you see? I hope you see a great person who can love themselves and others as themselves. I hope you see someone who can address both weaknesses and strengths without flinching. Acknowledging weaknesses means we are growing. (Personally, I have never had a garden without a few weed problems!)
I hope you find a person in the mirror who can acknowledge their beauty. You are beautiful! Enjoy life!
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