Beautiful

              "Get Away From Me, You FAT UGLY COW!"

I was 10 years old when I heard those words for the very first time.  I had the biggest crush on the boy that said them to me.  For that reason, his opinion of me mattered.

At times, I still struggle with my self-image.  I still see myself as an outcast as the fat ugly girl.  I don't have that crush anymore, but I can still hear those words in my head twenty-six years later.

I don't think I am the only one that struggles with self-imaging issues.  I am pretty sure most women and men have experienced this at one point or another in their lives.  My question is why do we care so much about what others think of us.  We have the mentality of "It doesn't matter what I think of me, and it doesn't matter what you think of me.  It only matters what I think you think of me."  This is not the right mentality to have. 

We should really take on the Saturday Night Live character, Stuart Smalley, philosophy.  You're Good Enough, You're Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like You. 

Or Bob and Larry's philosophy from Veggie Tales.  God Made You Special, and He Loves You Very Much.

God made us in His image.  God made us with Love.  He did not make us to dislike ourselves.  He made us to love one another as we would love ourselves.  If we can't love ourselves, how can we possibly share God's love with others.  I have to tell myself when I am feeling down about myself that God is much greater and mightier and wiser than any 12 year old boy. 

God doesn't judge my self worth by my weight, my hair color, my complexion, or any other physical attribute.  Before God ever made me, He knew what kind of person I would be.  He knew my struggles, my tears, my joy, and my laughter.  God knows the number of hairs on my head.  God loves me for me.

I am loved by God so much that He gave Jesus to me and this old world to die on a cross.  I am worth the ultimate sacrifice.  God wouldn't let His only son, Jesus, die on a cross if I wasn't worth anything.  And Jesus died on the cross for not just me, but for every single person brought into this world.  That means we are all worth the ultimate sacrifice. We are His children. We are all loved.  We are all beautiful in His eyes.