You Are Enough

Every so often I have these intense moments of clarity that allow me to see the sparkling surface of whatever pond or puddle of self pity I've been drowning myself in and shoot up to the top for a long breath of Christlike perspective.  It's absolutely invigorating to have those moments when you finally see, and realize.  When you are able to see the whole picture and feel like you're...enough.

It's no secret, I'm a woman, and women as a whole, really struggle with self-identity, self-esteem and self-worth.  It's just who we are and how we're made.  And it's OK.  But, I just have to write it all down before it vanishes...and this is what I have to say; to myself, to every woman in the world.  You ARE enough.  Right here, right now.  As you sit and read this blog, the person reading this blog IS enough.  You always HAVE been enough, and you always WILL be enough, and golly-gee, you ARE enough right NOW!

Our measure of success has NOTHING, hear me again...NOTHING to do with achievement.  Did I throw you off base?  Did I shock you?  Has your world just come crashing in on you?  Our success and who we are is based on our EFFORT.  You heard me, our effort.  We let ourselves be judged by a very dirty and immoral world who bases success on tangible and worthless achievements.  Achievements that mean nothing and lead us to believe that we ourselves are worth nothing.  Why?  Because we're expected to achieve the exact same standard:  Pretty homes, skinny bodies, smart children, full bank account...is any of this sounding familiar?  We bombarded day after day after day with media....media everywhere telling us how to be better.  And it masks itself as "inspiration".  "Inspiration" to help us have a better body, a prettier home, smart kids, more money...which are all great things to work for, but we lose ourselves in the game.  We forget that it's not the world that really matters, it's our Savior.  He could care less about our pretty home, or skinny body, or smart kids, or full bank account.  Our Savior doesn't have His home decorated with the latest styles, He doesn't have a wardrobe full of the latest fashions, and I'm betting He's never run a marathon.  

Those are all things we see that other people have, and we think we need to have it too, and when we try and we try and we try and we try and we try some more...and we don't achieve those things, we feel like a failure.  Can I say again that our measure of success has NOTHING to do with achievement.  Our Savior sees our efforts and we should too.  We should see that how hard we are trying is worth far more than what we can actually accomplish.  Let me give you an example:  I do NOT like to run.  I do it anyway because it needs to be done, but really and truly, I don't like to do it.  I struggle with running, it's a challenge for me...it's...not....easy for me.  So, if I were to run a marathon, that would be an absolutely amazing, world shaking accomplishment.  On the other hand, some people LOVE to run, and it's much much easier for them, and running a marathon, well, it's just another day for them.  THEIR accomplishment of completing that marathon is SOOOO vastly different than mine would be, because we are different people.  The world sees that accomplishment as the same, but our Savior, well...He knows, and He understands. 

And so, I come to my final point.  "Be ye therefore perfect.".  Our Savior's plea to each and every one of us is to...be perfect.  If we take this the way the world wants us to take it, we will be horribly frustrated and will soon give up.  This is what the world decrees:  "Be ye therefore, the same.".  Did you catch the difference?  I sure hope so!  They are totally different.  Our Savior has not, nor will He EVER ask us to be 'the same' which is the worlds definition of perfection.  Perfect...and hear me when I say this...is subjective in the Lord's eyes.  Every single time.  We are all different and all aspiring to be like our Savior, but our road to get there including mileage, roads, car type, detours, collisions...it's ALL different, and if we are comparing our trip to someone else's then our trip will ALWAYS be a failure.  

We don't have to be like anyone else.  We don't have to feel like a failure if we can't get dinner on the table 6 nights a week, or if we can't run 10 miles.  We don't have to feel like a failure if our home isn't like the homes on Pinterest, or if...after ALL of our best efforts, we haven't accomplished our goal.  You WIN because you TRIED.  You earn the merit for your effort.  You ARE enough.