I recently read a book called “Free to be me” by Betty Robison.
In her book, Betty describes how fear and self-doubt have paralyzed her, making her believe that nothing she did was enough and that she could never “measure up.” As she grows throughout her life, she learns to face her fears and breaks free from insecurity to true freedom.
She does this by discovering that God loves us and accepts us just as we are RIGHT NOW. She talks about how her fears affected her marriage, her ability to be “teachable” and open her heart, her ability to trust God, to speak in front of many people publicly, go on mission trips that helped others around the world, coping with the loss of loved ones, and so much more. These are all things a lot of us face. But many of us don’t realize that we have the ability to choose how we react to these fears.
We can choose to run from our fears or we can choose to face them; to overcome them. Running from our fears can look very different for many people, so can facing them. Betty acknowledged that choice throughout her life and always did her best to choose to face her fears. Her story is one of the most inspiring stories I have ever read.
In society, we can’t seem to help comparing ourselves to each other. We log onto facebook and see updates of people getting new jobs and think, “wow, they’re more impressive than I am,” or maybe “I can’t believe that’s “all” they’re doing with their lives.” We see people getting married and having children and judge that, too. We compare social, financial, relationship, physical, mental, and spiritual statuses as a means to “measure” up. There are even people who compare how “godly” they are. Lets be real, none of us are God and none of us have a right to judge or make that kind of comparison. So what are we trying to measure? God already loves you and accepts you. So why are we still trying to “prove” something when there’s nothing to prove? Isn’t that
exhausting?!
I’m not saying you’re not allowed to want to be your best; I’m definitely one for pushing myself to achieve my personal goals and be the best that I know I can be with the gifts and purpose God has given me. I’m just saying, don’t let anyone else define what YOUR best looks like. If your best looks like a school teacher who likes to plant in her garden on the weekends while reading books and visiting her family, that’s wonderful. If your best looks like a bartender who enjoys making drinks and going out with your friends and hitting the gym every day, cool! If your best looks like a doctor who is curing cancer, wow! Whatever you decide your best is, no one is “better.” We’re all equal in Gods eyes. No matter what you do, no matter who you are, you are loved just as much today as the day you were born when all you had to offer the world was a smile (and lots of vomit, spit up, and poop…but we don’t need to focus on that part).
So whatever you do in life, don’t let the fear of “measuring up” stop you from being you. And don’t put that kind of pressure on others, either. Trust that everyone is doing their best, that everyone is following their heart and encourage them to do what makes them happy; not what makes them seem “appealing” to society. Because you’ll never be happy if you’re trying to satisfy a status quo that changes more often than the amount of diaper changes you have to give a newborn throughout a given week.
Once you realize you’re perfect the way you are, that you are loved for your heart and your God-given gifts (whatever they may be !), you’ll be free to just be YOU. Whatever that looks like to you 🙂 And you’ll be able to encourage others to do the same. And maybe, just maybe, we’ll be able to accept each other a little more and live in a world where our differences are celebrated and appreciated; not compared and judged.
By Zhaklina Poulos
#FreeFromFear #BeYou #LoveYourselF
