Loving Ourselves Brave

 

 

I think for many of us, loving ourselves is a hard work. Our internal dialogue has its way with more “not enough” statements than we care to count. We lose our focus. We lose our way.

These last few days have been a struggle to bravely love me. It’s a busy ministry time right now. I’ve just finished speaking seven times in nine days. That’s a lot for me. And I’m weary. Loving brave and well can be challenging on a good day, but on a weary day it’s even harder.

So what do I do? I’ve learned to make time for quiet and rest. I know all of the excuses why that can’t work. But it can. And it does. Jesus is our perfect example.

[Jesus] withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Matthew 14:13

We need to find our own solitary place. I’m not talking hours or days. That would be lovely though… You may have to get creative to find some moments of quiet, but I promise you they can be found. If Jesus needed time away, how much more do we?

Next I open my Bible to Ephesians. Oh, how I love that book! When I need to be reminded where my identity lies, Ephesians is the place.

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:8-10

Loving ourselves brave is only possible because Jesus loves us first and most and perfectly. We are His and that’s where the love and the brave come from.

I’d love to hear about your solitary place.

This is day 7 of 31 days of Living Bravely. To see a list of all the posts, just click here.