Dare to Be You
You are designed to be you. And you are the first you there ever was and that there ever will be. That means your path will be unique to you because nobody else can, has, or will walk it out. But that also means it is up to you to understand your design and to take the steps to see it fulfilled.
And you are the best you there is!
Despite what the world tries to tell you, you aren’t designed to conform to its constraints. You are designed to stand up, to stand out, and to be YOU tiful!
We have to live in this world, but we don’t have to be limited by it. The more we understand our unique design and the more we lean into that design, the bolder we walk it out.
You will never be great at being anyone other than yourself. Lean into you!
Hiding My Unique Design in Excuses
My husband often asked me over the last several years why I hadn’t reached my goals. I had a lot of excuses – and he was involved in more than a few of them – but the truth of it all was that I was afraid.
I’m not shaped the way the world says I’m supposed to be shaped. I never have been. Even when I was the most fit I’ve ever been, I didn’t fit into the mold THEY dictated. I still feel the words of the “in crowd king” telling me I was fat and my pants were ugly.
After the birth of our youngest son, those words to my 14-year-old self became a heavy burden. I didn’t want to go outside because I knew someone would judge me for where I was in my health journey. That lead me to get deeper in the negative space which in turn let me to hide behind more excuses.
Each time I hid, it became easier to hide.
It’s only been in the last few months – and really in the last couple of weeks – that I have started leaning fully into my unique design.
I accept that people are going to judge me. They are going to judge me if I do or if I don’t. They are going to judge me if I have or if I don’t have. They are going to judge me because that is what they do.
If I wait until I won’t be judged by the world, I will never move.
If I wait until I won’t be judged by the world, I will never move. Share on XYou Can’t Judge Me
Rosemary shared a story about her daughter and son. The son wanted things done a certain way and he condemned his sister for not doing it his way.
“You can’t judge me. I’m forgiven and redeemed.”
When she shared that story in Sunday School, it resonated in my heart. It was the Light that pushed away all of the shadows that I had been using to avoid the judgement. I embraced the idea of no longer trying to avoid the judgement but to just reject it completely.
You can’t judge me. Not anymore. I am choosing to remember that I am forgiven. I am redeemed.
I am not here to please people. As long as I’m attempting to please people, I will fall short.
I am not here to do things the way they say they have to be done. As long as I am walking in the world’s way I will miss God’s will.
I am not supposed to be you. As long as I’m trying to be someone else, I will miss living out my unique design.
Learning to BE YOU Tiful
The other day, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and I didn’t like what I saw. I wondered how my husband could love me the way I am. And then I remembered. My husband loves my heart – just like I live his heart – it’s beyond anything I can see or really explain. He won’t love me more because I look different. He won’t love me less. He loves me beyond what the eye can see.
I am beautiful in his eyes and I am choosing to see myself through is eyes.
Rejecting the judgment freed my heart to embrace all that is uniquely me. I still want to keep being the best me that I can be, and that means I have to keep choosing the intentional actions that move me toward the better changes. But I am no longer hiding.
When you lean into your unique design, you gain a freedom propelled by peace which gives you the strength to stand against the judgment of the world. You drop the chains and are no longer bound by the limitations the world tried to set. You have the wings to fly, and you will.
You are designed to be you and only you can understand the whole truth of that design. Others can encourage you. Others can condemn you.
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