The dreadful, tormenting gadget blinked once, twice …  and thus, the hopes of eating nothing but salads and protein went down the drain.

Great.

Let me tell you — of all the curses humanity inherited from Adam and Eve’s Fall, hormones are certainly among the most annoying ones. If you are a woman, they torment you from puberty to your early 60s, give or take. That’s almost half a century of ups and downs of emotions, energy, and, to many of us, weight fluctuations.

I stepped down from the scale, determined to stay the course of my journey. I put on sneakers and workout clothes and went outside for my morning walk. While climbing the first steep hill, an inventory of the previous week ran through my mind: I stuck to my eating program and exercised three times that week. I drank plenty of water and slept well. Yet, my metabolism seems to have slowed down to a stop.

“Hormones,” I thought. “I hate hormones.” Frustration built up as my legs marched toward the top of the hill. That’s when that Still Small Voice interrupted my tirade:

“Give Thanks … and open your eyes to see what I see.”

As the uphill journey became increasingly harder with each step, God shifted my thoughts from the pettiness of my complaints to the mountains I climbed by faith and the many valleys I crossed.

I remembered how not long ago, my legs would not have had the strength to stand, much less run, as several health problems and surgeries made it impossible to move at a fast pace for many years.

I remembered my friend’s husband, who currently struggles with terminal cancer, and how I am sure he wishes he had the strength to climb a hill.

I remembered that the same hormones that currently fluctuate inside my body made it possible to conceive our precious daughters, while so many women struggle with infertility every day.

As the top of the hill approached, my heart’s attitude started shifting while an image popped in my mind: the life-giving message printed on a beautiful canvas that a dear friend gave me for my birthday this year. The words, penned by King David in Psalm 139, present a poignant invitation to shift our perspective from what we see in the mirror to what God sees when He looks at us:

“For You formed my inward parts; you wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works, and my soul knows it very well.”

For You formed my inward parts; you wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works, and my soul knows it very well. #MondayDevotional
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As I repented from my shallow point of view, God filled me with thanksgiving and praise. And so, I thanked Him for legs that may not be as muscular as they once were, but which are certainly healthy and strong enough to carry me throughout my days. I thanked Him because, regardless of how much I weigh or how many new wrinkles show up on my face as the years go by, God sees me as beautifully, skillfully, and wonderfully made.

We are beautiful — not because the world says so, the mirror agrees, or the scale confirms. We are beautiful because we are made in God’s image and skillfully crafted by an Omnipotent God.

We are beautiful — not because the world says so, the mirror agrees, or the scale confirms. We are beautiful because we are made in God’s image and skillfully crafted by an Omnipotent God.
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As the one-mile walk up and down the hills reached the lake in my subdivision, one of my favorite worship songs by Lauren Daigle started playing. In this inspired song, Daigle calls us to fight the voices in our minds that say we are not enough, by reminding ourselves of whom God says we are. The words pierced my heart as a journey to blow off steam from my frustrating experience with the scale that morning turned into praise:

“The only thing that matters now is everything you think of me. In you I find my worth, in you I find my identity.”

This article was originally published in Patricia’s column for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Saturday – July 6, 2019.

Watch Lauren Daigle’s YouTube video for “You Say”:

The post Who (or What) – Determines your Worth? {The Atlanta Journal-Constitution} appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.

In addition to composing favorites such as “God Bless America” and “Easter Parade,” he also wrote “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas,” which ranks as a best-selling musical score to this day.

In an interview for the San Diego Union, cartoonist and illustrator Don Freeman asked Berlin: “Is there any question you’ve never been asked that you would like someone to ask you?”

“Yes, there is one,” the composer quickly replied. “And the question is this: ‘What do you think of the many songs you’ve written that didn’t become hits?’”

His unexpected answer is memorable: “My reply would be that I still think they are wonderful.”

The story made me think of a conversation I had with my teenage daughter last week. We talked about how so many teenagers struggle with feelings of inadequacy, anxiety and lack of confidence, to the extent that many kids are on medication for depression these days.

I remember fighting similar feelings as a teen, and I know that they are common during the teenage years, when so many kids struggle with their self-image and self-worth.

As a teenager, I remember thinking I was fat, ugly, loud, my nose was too big, my hair too awkward … and the list went on and on. Today I look at pictures of my youth and realize how mean I was to myself.

I was my own worse bully and didn’t know it.

As hard as things might have been for teens in the mid-’80s, when top-models started strutting their curves in international catwalks, bringing beauty standards to unprecedented heights, they don’t compare to what kids face today.

Instagram, Snapchat, Photoshop and special filters have created an aura of plastic beauty that makes our girls and boys feel less than, every second they scroll down their smartphone’s screen.

And then there are the “likes.” Oh, brother! I recently read an article about young teens purchasing “likes” and followers on Instagram. That just takes the cake.

Indeed, it seems as if constant positive affirmation has become the measure of love for this generation. And I am afraid many adults from my generation and beyond are falling into the same trap.

As wonderful as social media can be — a place where I can find friends I haven’t seen in decades and a place where I can keep up with my family and friends who live 6,000 miles away — it can also be a place of downright pretense. On our social media walls, we make sure our houses are always clean, husbands and wives are always in their best behavior, and the camera angle always gets our good side (after 24 attempts and 3 filters, of course.)

That is why, to many teenagers, reality is becoming ever more distorted and they are increasingly harder on themselves. Therefore, it’s time we, parents, put down our own phones and come to their rescue. Quickly. Even if that means pulling them away from social media for a while.

As I discussed these issues with my daughter, I could not help but think about how Irving Berlin’s words reflect how God sees his children:

You and I may not always feel worthy, or beautiful. Our houses may not always look perfect, and we may have relationships that need serious work. We may not receive many likes from this world, and our life songs may not always become best-sellers, even among those who love us the most.

But God loves the entire album, from our best hits, to the off-key chords. He has an unshakable love for whom He made. He loves our brokenness, forgives and restores when we fail. That’s the message we must repeat to ourselves, and convey to our children.

This article was published on Patricia’s column for The Atlanta Journal Constitution on Saturday – August 19, 2017.

Constant positive social media affirmation has become the measure of love. Teens & parents. Read this!
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