Self Worth and Being Her Mommy

Being a mom to a little lady has turned our world upside down.

Ella is smart, silly, gorgeous, girly, and perfect.
It's her voice, so sweet and soft.
It's her mannerisms, so feminine and delicate.
It's her eyes, so dark and captivating.

 It's just Ella, it's who she is. She's the perfect addition to our family.

But some things about having a girl makes me so nervous. It's not the "traditional" things. I am not worried about her purity {God her two BIG brothers will watch out for her}, her education, her finacial security, who she marries, or even her eternal fate. I have total faith that God will grab her early on.

What makes me that most nervous is her self worth.

To be completely honest with you, I have struggled for as long as I can remember with my own self worth and body image. Don't all of us women? I have had major issues in my life that have dictated my behavior and have affected my decisions.. I don't want Ella to experience the same.

I want to mold and shape her "worth" through showing her what God has created her to be. She was made in HIS image. Not mine. Not anybody else's but God's.

Genesis 1:27
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

The way I talk about myself  is going to greatly impact my sweet girl's body image.
What if she grows up hearing me tear myself down? What if I am constantly talking about my "fat" arms, or thighs, or flabby belly? What if she hears about my bushy eyebrows, or double chin, or nubbin finger? What if I do nothing but complain about the body God gave me? Will she be confident in her's?

What will happen when somebody tells her that she looks just like me? When she has only heard me complain of my appearance…what is she supposed to think? She will think that she's inadequate. She will develop the same sense of body image that I have been talking about. If I hate who God created me be, she will do the same.

Even though what I say is directed towards me, it will directly impact her. She will begin to develop a sense of low self worth.

I want to make the conscious effort to have no "self negative talk" in our home. I don't want her thinking she isn't perfect in God created her to be.  I don't want her to be "on a diet", or to develop an eating/exercising disorder.
Our bodies have been made to glorify God.

1 Corinthians 6: 19
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

As mothers, our children look to us in forming their sense of identity. Lets all strive to pour love and value into them.
Even though it's a challenge, I will only complain about my dark arm hair to James not complain to my perfect babies.