Love Yourself

BIBLICAL POINT OF REFERENCE:

“Those who gain sense truly love themselves; this who preserve understanding will find success.”

~Proverbs 19:8

I used to ask myself why people were so afraid to grow up. For a thirteen-year-old (and even when I was younger), growing up meant you had the ability to do whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted, with little to no consequences from your parents. And who doesn’t want that?

I was probably overly excited to go to college and make my own rules under my own roof; but soon I learned that growing up comes with a terrible price: You have to take care of yourself. And boy, college does not make that easy.

When I graduated, I thought that things would change for the better—and in some ways, they did. But in other ways, taking care of myself just got so much harder. And that’s when you suddenly understand that you could be the smartest person in the world and still not be able to succeed as a sane, functioning human.

It’s an adjustment to be sure, and my people-pleasing attitude has heightened to an impossible level, one that puts other people’s needs (read: wants) above my own needs. I can’t explain how frustrating it is to want to please everyone and still have room for myself...although you might already know if you’re like me in this respect.

So here’s what I’d like to say to you all today:

Please STOP.

STOP telling yourself that you don’t matter.

STOP feeling like you have to please every person that ever asks anything of you.

STOP listening to the people that don’t care about you and your well-being.

STOP letting others walk all over you just because you don’t want to be mean.

And STOP thinking that you aren’t worth the trouble. Because believe me ladies, you are so worth the trouble. God died on the cross to prove that to us—we need no further evidence.

In Christ, we are each called to a life of service: service to God, service to others, and service to ourselves. We often put that final service on the back burner, and that’s when we really miss the final component of JOY.

Taking care of yourself may be hard, but it is everything to a well-balanced spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional life. So, my sisters, take care of yourselves. Love yourselves. Do what’s good for you and what God has called you to. And remember that it is okay to stop and smell the roses.

Your Laughing Sister,

Callahan

Check out the BEING GODLY WOMEN and CHANGE quotes pages for more inspiration!