Growing up, I had low self-esteem and a poor self-image. I didn’t like the way my nose was shaped or how my eyes looked.I definitely did not like my hair. I desperately wanted to look like the girls on TV. I wanted to look in the mirror and see myself as beautiful instead of ugly. The older I got, the better I became at masking my low self-esteem with a false confidence I would pretend to have. I didn’t want people to know how I really saw myself, so I would portray myself as this cool, confident young woman who was so sure of herself and didn’t care what people thought of her. That was so far from the truth. On the inside, I was growing more insecure by the day. The only time I felt pretty was when I had a boyfriend. I let them determine how I saw myself. Whenever they would cheat on me and abuse me physically and/or mentally, I was back in a low, depressed state. I would immediately begin to see myself in a negative light. I would always believe I deserved to be mistreated because I felt I wasn’t good enough.  I would think, “If only I were prettier, he would treat me better…if only I had this or I had that, he would be faithful to me.” Eventually, I snapped out of that. Thank God! I fell to the feet of Jesus. He had been waiting on me for so long. He showed me my value. He showed me my worth. He showed me that I am beautiful, that I am made in His image. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. He showed me that my value, my worth, my esteem comes from Him, not from them.

If you are struggling with body image issues, low self-esteem, or low self-worth, please know and believe you are beautiful, worthy, and valuable. God says so, and He does not lie. You are made in His image. He loves you, and He cares for you. Go to Him, not to the fading things of this world.  Only He alone can change the way you see yourself, but YOU have to be willing. Jesus loves you, and so do I.

Remember: You are fearfully and wonderfully made. You were made in the image of God. If you have a poor view of yourself, you essentially have a poor view of God. Allow Him to change the way you view yourself. You are worth far more than rubies. Don’t let anyone else tell you differently.

xoxo Disa B.