@Marcie_Bridges

The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying:

“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;

Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.

Jeremiah 31:3

 

 

Do you know how precious you are to Me
O daughter of Mine?
Do you know you are loved everlastingly
My beautiful child?

 

Creation has nothing on you.
The most awe-spiring sunset can not compare
To your beauty so rare.
I made flowers and trees, birds and bees,
Created skies and endless seas;
I fashioned mountains and valleys
Seasons and weather to change
But out of all of these things
I gave you heart and soul, a
Certain inner glow
Passion, emotion, beautiful life.

 

O daughter of Mine do you know
You were bought with a price?
You are Mine
And you, my child, are beautiful.
I love you.

 

~Marcell Warner Bridges
14, October 2018

 

Last week we looked at the handiwork of God’s creation. Sometimes I think we forget we are part of His creation. Especially us women.

 

We focus so much on what we should look like, act like, and be like according to the worlds standards, we forget that God created us and it is He that made us who we are (Psalm 100:3).

 

Okay, okay. Yes, nurture has every bit to do with how we feel about ourselves as nature does. I’m not going to argue that. For example, I was taught to always go out looking my best. Even if I was going down the street to the corner gas station, I still needed my hair done, make-up on, and by no means would we wear sweat pants. Which means, to this day, I don’t like myself without make-up on and my hair done. That’s the way I was nurtured.

 

But God created us in His image and He declared His creation good! Did you catch that?

“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them . . . Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good” Genesis 1:27, 31a.

 

 

When God made you He made you with delight. It pleased Him to create you and to fashion you in your mother’s womb. And we have the audacity to declare ourselves . . . not good.

We have bought into Satan’s lies that we are not beautiful unless we conform to what the television and magazines tell us. We’ve let other people tell us that we ought to weigh a certain amount, have certain features, carry ourselves a certain way and act in ways that are not becoming to us.

 

My husband has always detested any type of put downs in this house. He is adamant on making sure we live in a positive environment. We’re not even allowed to joke in negative ways. So when he hears us [girls] say something negative about ourselves, he will say this, “I wish you wouldn’t say that about someone I love very much.”

 

In other words, why are we negating what someone else has deemed worthy? God has chosen us. He loves us. And when we make ourselves less than, He wants to remind us that we are His and He thinks we are more beautiful than anything or anyone else in this world.

Did you know God thinks more highly of you than the birds of the air or the fish in the sea? Oh yes. “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” Matthew 6:25

 

Oh my dear women and daughters would you look at who God says you are? I’m preaching to the choir here too. Let’s help build each other up. Remind each other that God made us beautiful and He thinks we look very good.

(By the way, my youngest daughter, Alyssa, painted all of these lovely pictures. I am so thrilled she has allowed me to use them just for my blog post.)

 

From My Heart to Yours,

Marcie

All photos are used with permission by the artist. All rights reserved. Cannot use or copy without permission. ©Alyssa Bridges 2018.