Let this be our declaration...

I read a devotion a while back that really hit me, and last night I sent it to some of my friends who have been having a hard time recently. This devotion was about being happy with who you are and who God created you to be. You are not valued because of your accomplishments, talents, or the way you look. You are valued because God created you in his loving image. Here is a part of the devotion that is my favorite:

“Let this be our declaration:

I am a person.

I am not a machine, spreadsheet, agenda or résumé.

I have a heartbeat, skin, scars and a soul.

I am a person.

My worth isn’t calculated in efficiencies, results or ladders climbed. I am not the sum of my accomplishments — or the sum of my mistakes. I am not my ambition, energy level, approval rating, mass appeal or worth to the company store. I am not an A-plus or D-minus. I am not a mess or a miscalculation.

I am not a mistake. Rather, I am a miracle. And so are you.

Because I am a person, made of love in the hands of God.

I will be a person today. I will be me. I will resist the urge to believe I’ve got to fight for my piece; God says there’s more than enough to go around.

I will see the best in others and recognize the best in myself.

I will reach for virtue more than trophies, dignity more than stardom. I will choose encouragement over envy. I will rejoice with those who rejoice.

I will stand tall on the inside, even if I’m feeling weak on the outside.

I am a person, a citizen of the Kingdom, where there is unending grace for me. Because I am a person, and I belong to Jesus.”