Happy Self-Love Sunday!
Today’s Self-love message is heavily inspired by today’s sermon from church. Often times we associate the person we used to be with such negativity. We forget that if we never experienced past trials & tribulations, we would never be the person that we are today, or the person we’re growing into. Applied knowledge is power and therefore, it’s essential to understand how our past has influenced our future. And how we aren’t who we used to be, so we can truly understand why we should love who are now even more!

“It’s difficult to be thankful for who we are, if we never remember who we were.”
When these words were stated today at church, I knew that I had to further develop this topic in a blog. I know that I have talked about letting go of past mistakes. But in order to do this, you must be at peace with your past. You must understand how your past has guided you to your future. Who you are is a combination of your past pains that have led you to be better, to not endure the same things, and that challenge you every day to not make the same mistakes. What I am saying is, that you are NOT your past, but your past has greatly influenced your present and will continue to do so. It’s just up to you to decide whether this impact will result in positive outcomes or negative. The choice is yours.

Personally, I know that my past has positively impacted my life. Now, that doesn’t mean that my past was perfect, because it definitely was not. It was filled with heartache, lots of pain, and lots of tears. However, those trying times have shaped me into the lady that I am today. The lady that I am continuously growing to be. My past has made me realize how much I need God, how I want to positively impact others, and my past has allowed me to better understand my strengths, and weaknesses. There’s a gospel song that says, “I won’t go back, can’t go back, to the way things used to be before your presence came & changed me.” So when the pastor mentioned those words above, I instantly thought of that song and what it means to me. I know that I can’t go back to how I used to think and behave, I don’t want to. And I know that God’s presence and having his presence in my life has truly changed me. Made me want to continuously strive to be and do better.

“When you understand who you were, then you have so much more appreciation for who you are, or who you can become.”
When you understand that you used to be bitter, hateful, filled with sadness or rage, BUT you don’t feel like that anymore, then you can have an abundance to appreciate. You can appreciate your growth! You can truly begin appreciating who you are. We are all battle-scarred in some way, shape, or form. The scars come from our past, they come from who we used to deal with, the old ways of thought. These scars do not define you. They just represent a time in your life, when you endured hurt. Pay attention to the word I used, endured. Meaning yes, you dealt with hurt but you also had victory over hurt. The pain, the tears, those trying times did not receive the last laugh. You received the last laugh. And you want to know how I know? Because I used to be so sad, consumed by everything I’ve been through. But one day I realized that I no longer wanted to let those feelings win. I began trusting in God and then, I became victorious over all my pain. I started in one situation, with such negativity, and ended up where I am today. I do not behave the way I used to, nor feel how I used to and therefore, I can appreciate where I am and where I’m going. But most importantly, I understand where I have been and how that ugly made my strive toward the prettiness of who I could be, where I could go.

We have all experienced ugly in our life, maybe a lot of ugly, maybe just a little. In order for us to understand the prettiness we now see, or the prettiness we are trying to see, we have to understand that ugly. Understand how it’s allowing us to let go, to move forward, and to appreciate. If you’ve never done so, take some time to understand the ugliness of your past and how your life looks totally different today. Appreciate your growth and strength in your present, because of the ugliness of your past. I guarantee you’ll be amazed at the transition and proud you didn’t let ugly win. Love yourself a little harder today, knowing that you must understand who you were, so you can better appreciate who you are, or who you will become.