I make no secret of the fact that I’m crazy about my husband. That he’s sweet, hilarious, or that we’re in love. Andrew and I are the best of friends and he’s my favorite person on the face of the earth for a whole SLEW of reasons.
… don’t worry, I won’t list them. I don’t think the Internet has enough space.
The point is that I am, at all times, ready to acknowledge the goodness in him because I love it. It’s natural, isn’t it, to appreciate the goodness in another person? Even if you don’t express it outwardly, seeing goodness in others is what draws us to them. For instance, I could go on and on about my best friend Erin and how I’m SURE she’s the sweetest, purest soul to have ever lived; and no one can wear periwinkle blue like my mom who looks absolutely stunning in it. What’s interesting is that nowadays, complimenting another person is often mistaken for manipulation. What’s your angle? What do you want? If jealousy is involved, people don’t compliment at all because they’re too busy coveting; and equally unfortunate is that recognizing good in ourselves is widely seen as vanity and pride.
Since acknowledging positive qualities in other people is good and acceptable, why wouldn’t doing the same for yourself be so? You should love yourself – not just like yourself or appreciate bits and pieces of your personality, but I’m talking the whole package. Body and soul, every last achievement, defect, quirk, and mannerism. Love it all.
My dear, dear friend Mikki challenged me yesterday to list things that I love about myself including/in addition to God’s gifts and blessings to me. Yikes, have you ever tried to do that? The second I received my assignment, I completely shied away from the idea, deciding not to proceed. Ask someone to list what they dislike about themselves and the litany begins; ask someone what they love and they might hem and haw, “Gosh, I don’t know!” or maybe they’ll muster the courage to admit they have straight teeth. Why do people in general hesitate to acknowledge their gifts and talents? It works the same as recognizing the goodness in others – it’s all a way of praising God. The truth is that doing so isn’t actually vanity, but an aspect of humility as long as your approach is right.
Humility is knowledge of self, according to St. Catherine of Siena, and part of knowing yourself is recognizing A) that you have blessings and achievements and B) that they come from your Creator.
Logically speaking…:
God is good.
We are made in His image and likeness.
Therefore, we have goodness within us.
God blessed me differently than He has any other soul – I’m a beautiful, one-of-a-kind woman made for one divinely ordained purpose. [It’s crazy how difficult that is for me to say.] Based on all this, I know it’s good for me to acknowledge God’s gifts to me, but I’d love a little company. So let’s do it! Take pride in your humility and tell me how great you are at painting or public speaking; and know that your value is in the Giver, not the gift. It’s not vain to be proud of these things, it’s vain to credit ourselves for them.
PRAISE GOD! –> What I love about myself (in no particular order)
- I excel in a professional atmosphere. I love the thrill of mastering something new, making deadlines, and the surge of satisfaction when I produce something that surpasses expectation.
- I’m a passionate and engaging public speaker; I’m witty and the bigger the crowd, the more comfortable I feel.
- I am determined to know the ins and outs of my husband so I can serve him better and get him to Heaven. I’m a sweet and merciful wife.
- I’m an expert in my children; I know how to validate them so they feel empowered and proud of themselves. I make them laugh, and I love that they love me.
- When it comes to mastering domestic finances and helping others get started, I’m the most enthusiastic cheerleader you’ll get.
- I’m passionate about people having healthy, prayerful marriages that produce happy homes and families.
- I work hard to make sure each of our family members feels welcome in our house. It’s important to me that our children feel that they belong and my husband feels that he’s respected and regarded even when he’s away from home.
- I do pretty well with words.
- When it comes to joy, I’m a big believer in little things.
- I’m happy when I’m pregnant and I love witnessing for the pro-life cause as a mother who knows all children are blessings.
Your turn! Tell me what you love in the combox, link back to your own blog post, tell me about it on Facebook, or follow #tcwlovethyself. Show the world whatcha got, and more importantly praise God through your gratitude.
The original and compassionate inspiration for this was my friend Alzbeta’s post – THANK YOU, dear friend!
