May 2, 2011

"YOU ARE WHAT YOU THINK!"

"For as he thinks in his heart, so is he" Proverbs 23:7. This phrase is so true, because we believe the thoughts we tell ourselves more than we believe what other people tell us about ourselves. When I was a child, I had a pretty good self-esteem. I was a very shy child, but around the fifth grade, I started to emerge a little bit from my shell. Then probably when I was around 10 years old and in the sixth grade, something happened that made me question my worth in this world. My one half-sister (we had the same father but different mothers) screamed at my parents that I was nothing but an illegitimate bastard and that my mother should have had an abortion because I was a disgrace to the family because I was born out of wedlock. These words played a part in my life for the next 28 years. If there is one valuable lesson that I can offer people is instead of listening to negative forces in this world, listen to what God has to say about you! You will become the person who you think you are, so please think positive, loving thoughts about yourself.

We are not a mistake here on this planet! Let me repeat, because I need to hear this myself again and again, we are not a mistake here on this planet! God formed us in His image! He knew us before we were born! He sent us here with a purpose! You might be saying, "Oh yeah, well what is my purpose?" Your purpose is to be yourself and to love!

When I was a little girl, I remember watching the news, and I remember getting upset when I would see images of homeless people. I remember saying to my father, "Why doesn't anyone help those poor people?" One image that has stuck in my head is a man standing next to a fire that he had built in a barrel to warm his hands. He had no coat, no gloves, no hat. I remember looking at my Dad and saying, "When I grow up, I am going to give hats, gloves, and scarves to the homeless."

That memory faded until about five years ago. A lady who was a member of the church I was attending at the time was starting a "hats" ministry in our local community. She would buy winter hats and place them in a ziploc baggy with a Bible scripture. Then she would take these hats out to the streets, and she would donate them to the homeless or needy people in our area. One day during Sunday service, this lady announced that she needed help, and that she would accept hats from anyone who was willing to help donate to her ministry. I was excited, because now, I could help with a cause from my childhood. I donated probably close to 100 hats to this lady's mission. At that point in time, I was thinking that I was a good servant who was meeting my purpose in life.

Through the years, I have bounced back and forth from positive to negative ideas of how I view myself. When negative forces come against me, I find it harder to climb back out of that negative pit that I have built for myself over the years. I will replay those negative words that someone may say to me over and over again in my mind. Then I start to believe that I am what those other people have said about me. However, once I get tired of being in that deep, dark pit, I will pick up an inspirational book and read what Joyce Meyer or Joel Osteen may have to say, and I then remind myself that I am worthy, I am loved, I am a good person!

Get into the habit of telling yourself only positive comments. You have to be with yourself every minute, every second of every hour of every day, so get into the habit of speaking kindness into your own life. Do not be so hard on yourself just because other people may have been mean to you over the years. Someone on the outside may not have approved of your birth, but I will tell you one thing and that is GOD APPROVED OF YOUR BIRTH! Otherwise, you would not be here right now at this very moment reading this message. God loves you, so start believing and telling yourself those words everyday! You become the thoughts that you think! So, think positive thoughts!