Hey! I said No!

Affirmation

I am a godly image of compassion, mercy, and grace to my children.

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”
~Genesis 1:27

What do you see when you look at yourself in the mirror? Wow, that’s a loaded question. I know that, as women, we don’t always see something desirable, beautiful, wanted… at least I don’t. In fact (I’m going to get a bit personal), I don’t like what I see in the mirror one bit. It’s hard to see something beautiful when you’re overweight. It’s hard to see something beautiful when that little voice in your head is telling you you’re not.

I’ve always battled with self image issues. I’ve always been overweight. For me, that goes hand in hand. Now, its coupled with the fact that I don’t know when I got a shower last, and I definitely don’t know where any of my clothes are. Being a mom is tough!

I lose sight of who I am on an hourly bases. Maybe even a minute by minute bases. But this verse, this affirmation, brings me back to the very core of who I am.

I am a loved creation of God.

And not just that, I was created in his image. So how discouraging must it be when I look in the mirror and dislike what I see? God has to be standing above looking down on me and just shaking his head: I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed.

I get so caught up in the worldly view of things that I forget that the spiritual view is so much better!!! I mean really, haven’t you met someone who outwardly they’re just gorgeous, but then you get to know them and they’re ugly? It happens all the time. And it’s because people work so hard on their outside appearance and forget that their heart and soul are the very crux of their beauty.

This affirmation is telling us that we are the very image of compassion, mercy, and grace for our kiddos. When they fall and hurt themselves, we don’t just brush it off, we pick them up and kiss their boo-boos and tell them that we love them. Compassion. When they break a plate or a toy on accident, we don’t get angry (we might want to, but we don’t), we tell them that breaks and accidents happen in life and that it’s really ok. Mercy. When our kiddos tell us a lie or give us a ridiculous attitude, we don’t just throw them out. We love them through the discipline. Grace. I could be very far off with my personal definitions of Compassion, Mercy, and Grace, but I’m sure you guys get the point.

We are CREATED in the image of God. A God who has wiped our tears countless times, a God who doesn’t condemn us for our sins, and a God that gives us opportunities time and time again to make the right decision… that we ultimately mess us. The way we react and love our kids is how we teach them God at even a young age. How amazing is that?

I hope that this affirmation touched your life like it did mine. Write it down, hang it up where you can see it, and remember that you are beautiful because God made you beautiful. (Sorry, that sounds like the ending to a VeggieTales episode, but I still believe it to be true.)

With Light and Love,

Lissie