One of the greatest gifts of emotional wellness is the freedom we experience when we no longer feel the need to control what other people think of us. In other words, the opinions of others come in a distant second to the knowledge we posses and the opinions we hold about ourselves.
When we pour so much emotional energy into trying to be what we think others wants us to be, we contribute to our own spiritual death. When we finally give up this quest for approval and acceptance, it feels like an exhilaration akin to being released from a long captivity.
We realize the futile and often foolish things we did to get noticed or to be liked but we understand with tenderness, that we were simply too fragile to do anything different. The freedom to do differently can only come when we learn to love and accept ourselves for exactly who we are… no more and no less. This is the real definition of humility… to accept ourselves unconditionally with a gentle and affirming love.
SELF- ACCEPTANCE PRAYER
Lord, teach me to see myself as You see me... To accept myself the way You do... to receive Your love and trust in your goodness because when I do I become more like You.
Help me to delight in the life You have given me. Help me to know how much You truly love me. Help me to be free from all that keeps me in captivity so that I might walk in Your love and Your light all of the days of my life.... Amen.