Be You

Being a mother of 4, count them, FOUR girls, as well as a boy, I feel this deep need to help my kids, especially my girls, develop true confidence and self esteem.  It is a daunting task considering how much exposure they get about how the world judges beauty and self worth.  It literally surrounds them through social media, internet, music, TV, and magazines.

I was deeply touched when I saw this campaign I came across called "Dove Real Beauty Sketches".  In it a forensic artist from the FBI sits with women on one side of a curtain as they describe themselves to him and he draws their portrait.  Later, they interact with each other and he has them describe someone they have met that day, and does another portrait of a person they met.  They then place them side by side and the comparisons have striking differences!  The women's self described portraits tend to be critical, concentrating on their flaws and imperfections.  In contrast, their portrait someone else described is softer, friendlier, and a more beautiful version of themselves.  


Some had alarming realizations about their self esteem and how they regard themselves, and even described how paramount their view of themselves truly is.  How it affects their interactions with spouses, friends, employers, and children.  How it is the glass through which they see everything else.  How we feel about ourselves from the inside, truly affects how we act and interact with everyone on the outside.  (Here is the link to watch on YouTube...a very well spent 6 minutes!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=litXW91UauE)

It made me think of the power of 6 simple words:  "I am a child of GOD."  :)  No matter your religion, most connect with the idea that we have a supreme creator.  As His children, we have divine roots, divine worth, and divine potential!  It is humbling and mind boggling to really understand and consider what it means to be offspring of the God of the Universe!  In teaching my children, I am struck with the idea for my need to underscore how true self esteem and self worth comes through knowing Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven.  As we come to know, love, and trust in them and be in awe of their love of us and desire for our happiness, we can glory in ourselves.  NOT that we're "all that" as the world may think of self esteem and confidence, but that we can be so happy to be us, because we are HIS.  We can celebrate all that makes us good and right, because that celebrates God, as we are His crowning creation!

I am God's daughter.  I have infinite worth.  I am God's.  What inspiration that provides!  "The worth of souls is great in the sight of God."  May I help my daughters and son KNOW this, feel this, and live according to this truth!  May we see each other not from our worldly perspective, but from His eternal perspective.  May we see each other as He does, knowing He gave His Only Begotten Son in our behalf!

An Apostle, Dieter F. Uchtdorf reminds us:

“And while we may look at the vast expanse of the universe and say, ‘What is man in comparison to the glory of creation?’ God Himself said we are the reason He created the universe! His work and glory—the purpose for this magnificent universe—is to save and exalt mankind....Our Heavenly Father created the universe that we might reach our potential as His sons and daughters.  This is a paradox of man: compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God. While against the backdrop of infinite creation we may appear to be nothing, we have a spark of eternal fire burning within our breast. We have the incomprehensible promise of exaltation—worlds without end—within our grasp. And it is God’s great desire to help us reach it.  …Be assured that if you but hold on, believe in Him, and remain faithful in keeping the commandments, one day you will experience for yourselves the promises revealed to the Apostle Paul: ‘Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.’  Brothers and sisters, the most powerful Being in the universe is the Father of your spirit. He knows you. He loves you with a perfect love.  God sees you not only as a mortal being on a small planet who lives for a brief season—He sees you as His child. He sees you as the being you are capable and designed to become. He wants you to know that you matter to Him.  May we ever believe, trust, and align our lives so that we will understand our true eternal worth and potential.”

MAY WE SEE OUR TRUE BEAUTY AND PASS THIS GIFT ON TO OTHERS.