that’s what makes you - YOU

A week or so ago, my mom, my sister, and I were at a painting class together. After seeing how great my mom and my sister were doing, I began to feel subconscious about my own painting. I felt that it didn’t add up to how good theirs looked. So, I started to copy things that they had painted.

And then I realized… “This is exactly what we do to ourselves, and to each other.”

We are constantly looking to the person on our left and to the person on our right, and trying to copy who they are. 

We like the way they do their hair, so we copy them. 

We like the way they dress, so we copy them. 

We like the way they do their makeup, so we copy them.

We spend so much of our lives trying to be a copy of someone else, instead of being who God created us to be. 

But friend, you cannot be her.

And she cannot be you.

Do you know why?

Because God created you to be YOU.

Being unique is not a bad thing.

In fact, it’s a very good thing!

I have a birthmark right beside my eye and I have hated it most of my life. There were times that I wanted to remove it. But then one day, my sister drew a picture of me. She drew my birthmark on my face and I asked her, “Why did you draw that?” And she had the most perfect answer, one that I will never forget. She said, “Because I love it! That’s what makes you, YOU!”

The things that you don’t like about yourself, are the same things that other people wish they had. The things that you don't like about yourself, are the same things that God loves the most about you. Because that is what makes you unique. That is what makes you, YOU!

Not only do we compare our outward appearances to other people, but we compare our lives in general.

“Why am I not engaged yet?

Everyone is married and having kids - why don’t I have that yet?

They have their own house, meanwhile, I am still living with my parents.

They have their life all figured out - and I don’t.”

Friend, if this correlates with some of the thoughts that you are having right now, let me tell you something - don’t let their wins become your losses. I think a lot of times we view each other as competitors instead of teammates. We are supposed to encourage, lift up, and love one another. But with our hearts filled with comparison, jealousy, pride, and resentment, we cannot do that. Instead, we need to recognize that just because someone else is in a different stage of life than we are, or just because someone has success, does not mean that we are behind or that we are losing at life.

I ran track in high school and one of the things that my coach always told me was to “run my race.” He told me, “Don’t worry about the people running in the lanes beside you, focus on your race and your speed. Focus your eyes on the next hurdle.” We are all in the same race that is called life. We need to run our race - in our lane - at our pace - focusing our eyes on God. As soon as we take our eyes off of God and onto the person running in the lane beside us, we will begin to compare ourselves, feel jealous, and lose sight of our identity.

We spend so much time trying to be like someone else that we lose sight of who we are. We try to find our identity in the world’s standards, instead of who God is and who He says we are. And friend, God says that you are beautiful and that you are worthy.

You were made to be YOU. Not a copy of someone else.

The God of the universe believes that for you… it is time you believe it for yourself.