As I’ve grappled with the question: Am I really content in Christ? I’m understanding so much of what I struggle with is rooted in a discontent with myself. I feel like Eve must have in the garden when she ate that fruit and realized suddenly she was naked. She felt shame about herself.
I get that. Not just about the way my skin sags and the stretch marks across my stomach and thighs but the shame of past mistakes and bad choices. I look in the mirror and I see wrinkles and dark circles and gray roots and dry skin and a total lack of personal style and … well, you get the idea.
And it’s not just my appearance that leaves me with that familiar feeling of not enough …
I know all I could do but don’t.
All I shouldn’t do but do.
All the times I’ve yelled at my child.
All the times I’ve hurt my husband.
All the times I served from selfishness.
All the times I’ve coveted and felt envy.
All the times I’ve wondered, “Why her?”
And all the times I’ve questioned, “What’s wrong with me?”
Sound familiar?
But the thing is, as we experience true contentment in Christ, the result is being content with ourselves. I’m learning when I can only see the worst in myself it’s because I’m holding up the wrong mirror. I’m looking at myself in comparison to the world. And the world offers all sorts of crazy carnival mirrors.
But when I hold up the mirror of truth, I am reminded who God says I am and how He sees me.
Last week I was reading Isaiah 43:1-4. These are my “go to” verses when I start to lose sight of how much God loves me and how precious I am to Him. I snapped a photo after I wrote them out along with my notes to myself. When I shared it on Instagram as part of the #WriteTheWord challenge with The Seed Company, I loved reading all the comments. We all need to be reminded how much God loves us, how precious we are to Him, that He knows our names, and He has given a ransom for each one of us.
Maybe today you need to be reminded of these truths … so you can hold up the mirror of truth instead of the mirror of comparison. And live contented in yourself as God’s beloved creation.
xo, sweet friends!
Teri Lynne
{Don’t forget all the 31 Days of Living Well posts are indexed here.}
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{first image via canstockphoto.com}
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