Loving the Skin I'm In

I have been deep in pondering things today. I'm not really sure where to start, but I want to ramble a bit. There is a commercial on TV where the main theme is "Love the skin you're in." I think it's a soap commercial, and it's talking about the outer layer of skin.

Of course, I took it a step further. I think so much of our lives is spent being content in the skin we we're in. I know in my classroom, a lot of my time is simply encouraging kids who fight self esteem in figuring out where they fit in in this world. And, I don't think we're that different from the little people in my world.

I don't think we walk around hating ourselves, I really don't. But I do think a lot of our lives is spent figuring out where we fit in in this journey called life. This journey gives us so many twists and turns, and we find ourselves trying to keep afloat. And it is amazing what a simple word of encouragement can do for someone.

As I was pondering this, I was thinking about what I've walked in the past few months. I've let very few in on what has happened in my little corner of the world. And, I have been stretched in ways I never thought possible. I have found myself questioning some decisions I have made, but I know I can't go back and change things. As much as I want to, I can't rewind the clock.

I think that is okay. I think about a statement that was made in my favorite book from last year, titled The Shack. In the book it states that God knows what is going to happen in my life from beginning to end, EVERY SINGLE DAY of my life. In fact, he knew every step of my life before I was even born. And, I know that some of the challenges I've come across in the past 3 months didn't catch God off guard. It caught me off guard, but not Him.

In the book, it is also states that God knows that it may take me 49 times to learn something. So, all 48 attempts before that are not failures, they are steps to get to the 49th step where I finally grasp what it is He is trying to teach me. I hate to think I'm that slow on some things, but I know that I am. I know that there are concepts that I'm trying to grasp now, that will take me a lifetime to grasp.

So all the mistakes I have made in the past 3 months are just steps. Steps to figuring out what it is I'm to learn through all this stuff that I wouldn't have chosen to walk through if I had had the choice.

And what I have definately gained is that I am loving the skin I'm in. I'm a human, I have made mistakes and am going to make mistakes until the day I die. What I refuse to do in the midst of that is let that lower what I know is right and true. I'm a good person who has traits and characteristics that only God gave me. I like every gift He's put in me that makes me who I am today. I could list them all, but you get my point.

So as some people are judging me, without knowing ALL the facts, I'm okay with that.

And I'm okay with that, loving the skin I'm in.