every morning when i'm getting dressed, for as long as i can remember, before marriage and babies, and after, i have had the same little pep talk with myself. born of necessity, my pep talk shuts up the negative thinking in my head and helps me move forward in my day. sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. but as i'm standing there putting my clothes on for the day, this is the little pep talk i have with myself:
four powerful little words that i try to believe at the beginning of every single day. i look at myself in the eyes in the mirror and give myself this pep talk. it's weird, i know. and it's not because i'm vain and want nothing more but to be skinny, believe me! this pep talk is how i healed from a disorder that i fought for a long time. (PS: i God won) this pep talk has gotten me through some really tough times. days when i'd rather crawl back in bed than go anywhere or see anyone, my pep talk at least gets me through the getting dressed process and out the door. even if i only believe it temporarily, it's enough to move forward with my day.
it only occurred to me recently that my little pep talk isn't really that great. i mean, it's only negating the "you are fat" thoughts and distracting me from having that conversation in my head. after that, it isn't encouraging, inspiring, or uplifting by any means. it just temporarily covers up the ugly. and hey, if i have to keep telling myself every single day, then is it really working?! no.
words are powerful. they have the power to bring life or to bring death. but "you are not fat" was doing neither. my pep talk was meh.
so i decided my pep talk needed a makeover. the new qualifications for my new pep talk are this: it must be true. it must be positive. it must be lasting. it must be something my thoughts can't argue or compete with. it must be long-term. i should feel comfortable saying my pep talk out loud and not feel crazy. because talking to myself in the mirror is already crazy enough. i also realized that this particular area, for me, is exactly where the enemy attacks. he knows i'm weak in front of the mirror, so he sneaks in my head and fills it with lies: "you are fat. you are ugly. you are hideous. you have gained so much weight. you are huge." lies that i'm prone to believe. lies that my pep talk was not always loud enough to shut up. my new pep talk must abide by Ephesians 4:29: Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
here it is...my new pep talk:
"you are fearfully and wonderfully made."
i tried it on for size, and you know what? it's perfect. it spins my thoughts away from myself and into praising God! i believe what the Bible says, and the Bible says God made me before i was even born to this earth, that everything God made is good, and that includes me! i am fearfully and wonderfully made. this pep talk stands true no matter what the mirror reflects. God's promises never get old, and they never fail. the enemy hates it when i speak God's Word! when i look in the mirror and say this to myself, it's all i need to feel beautiful, loved, and perfectly made by God. and that's what matters!
i am thanking God for inspiring my new pep talk, and praying my daughter learns this truth early, and from me.
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You have searched me, Lord, and you know me...
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.
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do you have a pep talk with yourself on a regular basis?
does it line up with God's promises for you?
