Coming in contact with who you REALLY are can be overwhelming at times and well.....down right scary! Once you discover, You, all kinds of thoughts go through you mind:
-"Wow, I didn't know I could do that?!"
-"Geez, I didn't know that I really like this?!"
-"Ok. I am who I am now, what are people going to think?"
-"Now what do I do?"
....and so on and so forth. Look at that young lady in the picture above. She looks like she likes what she sees, right? We all should! But all too often the thoughts of others and the enemy find space that we've created in our minds to convince us that something is drastically wrong with what we see in the mirror. Something wrong with what we see physically, spiritually and mentally. Now, as a disclaimer, allow me to say that as Christians, we are continuously being perfected and have flaws not originally given to us, but we nonetheless have to take the responsibility of going through the process of being transformed in to the image of Christ (whew, got that out!). In other words, I'm not endorsing contentment with flaws that are contrary with the life of Christ. But to not overwhelm yourself with fear and go back to the former "representative" of you, here are some steps that you may want to consider taking to make the "reinvented you" a smoother transition:
1. Get Alone with God - He and He alone is the only validation that you NEED. You need God's validations, but as humans we naturally seek the validation of others and our peers which is what we WANT. You have to get secure with the fact that once God has validated who you are, then what anyone else thinks about you doesn't matter and frankly, is none of your concern. What God thinks matters most.
2. Accept Who You Are NOW - Many times people will bring up things about what you did back when and who you were when, but the blame does not always lye with others; we sometimes do it to ourselves. Once we come into Christ we are NEW creatures. We think differently, we feel differently, we see people and the word differently. Let's face it everything about us, our 5 senses and why we are here has instantaneously changed, but naturally we resist change. By accepting the "renewal process", we give ourselves permission to accept the perfect will of God for our lives....to be more like His Son, Jesus. Different is not always delightful, but the necessity of it is always rewarding.
3. Surround Yourself with OTHERS - There's a company brand out there that is pretty interesting called, OTHERS. At it's essence, OTHERS are those who are creatively different and unique and are leaving their mark on the world because of it. When you surround yourself with other godly people who are different and love themselves simply because of their unique qualities, it encourages you to do the same. You begin to then see by the example of "others" that your differences are what bring you together to introduce something beautiful in the world....YOU!
Although this isn't an all inclusive list of what you should or should not do in order to find your way once you've found you, it should be a good start. Let us know what your tips are and what you thought about this piece by commenting below!
Article Entry by Lorea M. Sample, CEO of Uncommon Scent Creations and Founder of reFOCUSed: Successful Life & Business Service.
