becoming the woman god wants me to be

over the past year or so, through everything i’ve been through, i’ve had one goal on my mind and set in my heart…becoming the woman God wants me to be.  becoming the wife, mother, daughter and friend that He wants me to be.  

it’s been a spiritual, emotional, physical and mental journey but through it all, i kept my heart open and allowed God to work on it.  it’s not always been easy and a lot of times it was ouchie when God would reveal something in me that needed tended to.  one thing that God has revealed is really a hard one for me (and so many of us), how i see myself when i look in the mirror.

Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands.

Psalm 119:73

when i would look in the mirror, i would see a girl with a stomach that looked like a road map with scars on top of scars from surgeries.  i would see a nose that was much too big from being broken time after time.  i would see skin that is discolored.  i could go on and on naming every single flaw i had.

have you been there?  i think we all have.

i knew that God loved me.  i knew i was created in His image.  so what in the world is my problem?  He quickly revealed it.  i was holding onto things in my heart that were ugly and really needed let go of.    as i allowed Him to wipe away the shame, embarrassment and unworthiness He soon replaced them with beauty, self-worth and pride.  

He replaced every lie the world had whispered to me and replaced it with His truth.  

we are all made in Gods image.  every single one of us.  do you know what that means?  i am beautiful, so are YOU, because we are daughters of the King and we were made in His image. take a moment and let that sink in.  embrace it.  tuck it away securely in your heart.  you are perfectly perfect and what He wants you to be.

a precious gem’s beauty isn’t always recognized until it enters the hand of a skilled jeweler who knows just how to clean and cut the gem in the way that will best reflect the light that shines on it.  our Father, the one who loves us the absolute most, holds us in His hands.  we are His and He is ours.  we can walk through this world with heads and hearts held high as daughters of the King. daughters who are messy and broken. with Him, we are transformed into beautiful simply because we are His.

true beauty is found on the inside.  when we allow Him to guide us, mold us, to cleanse our hearts of anything that doesn’t please Him…when we do all that, it’s reflected on the outside.  we are beautiful on the inside and outside when we acknowledge Christ’s deep and abiding love for us.  love that doesn’t change with our accomplishments or appearance.  He loves me in spite of my scars, booty, nose, bags under my eyes and droopy eyelids.  His love is always, always, forever there…accepting us exactly for who we are. 

Was when He ran to me, He took me in His arms 

Held my head to His chest, said “My son’s come home again” 

Lifted my face, wiped the tears from my eyes 

With forgiveness in His voice He said,

“Son do you know I still love you?” 

He caught me by surprise when God ran