Truth?
We are our own worst enemies.
Someone else trips…you help them up.
A friend is late….you tell them not to worry so much.
Another person does poorly on a test….you tell them they’ll do better next time.
Someone else is complaining…..you sympathize about their day and not to feel bad.
A friend admits to eating 3 desserts….you rationalize it and tell them they deserved it.
But.
YOU trip and you call yourself a klutz.
YOU are late and you chastise yourself for your awful unprofessionalism.
YOU don’t do your best and let the words “stupid moron” float around your brain.
YOU catch yourself griping and let guilt over your ungratefulness consume you.
YOU eat a few tasty treats and berate your lack of willpower and bulging jeans.
When someone we care about goes through a hard time, we try to take care of them.
We listen, advise, sit, and lend an ear or shoulder.
Perhaps we remind them of how strong they are….
of how much they have already been through…
of the good things they have accomplished….
of all the people who need/love/appreciate them….
of how God made them perfect and wonderful and in His image….
of how they are loved beyond measure and the very Son of God chose to die for them!
Yet, when we ourselves mess up, we are not so kind.
We are quick to find fault in all we’ve done.
We listen to the condemning words:
“You aren’t smart enough”
“Why would anyone listen to you?”
“You always mess this up!”
“Who would trust you with this anyway?”
“Why would God talk to you?”
“What do you have that’s worthwhile to add to this?”
“You aren’t needed!”
And we don’t fight these words.
We give into them.
These condemnations….these lies….these ideas planted in our hearts by the master of lies himself.
Truth?
God made you.
He made me.
He made our friends and our family and the guy frying my rice at Panda Express.
Each one of us….is purposefully made by the same hands that shaped the snow-capped mountains.
God made me because He wanted me here.
God made you because He wanted you here.
We have gifts….we have faults.
We have skills….we have issues.
And we can use EVERYTHING He made us with to do something good.
Something beautiful.
Even the big ‘ol messes we make!
So when you trip, just stand yourself back up. Brush off your knees and check yourself over.
Realize that you might have caught your foot on that crack because you were thinking about something super important….or that you were just tired from the long day of work you’d put in…or that you were so excited to do something wonderful that your feet just couldn’t keep up with your heart.
Then remind yourself….IT’S OK.
Excuse yourself when you mess up….just like you would excuse a friend.
When you feel like a failure…remind yourself of all you’ve accomplished.
If you eat 3 wedding cake concretes…thank God for inventing them and go for a long walk.
God made YOU….so be nice to YOU.
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