Seeing through His eyes

I don't do it. But I try. Desperately. I want to do everything I can to see myself, my life, God, and you through the eyes of Christ. It is vital to see as He does if I am going to live the life that He created me for.

I have had some serious vision problems in my life. I don't mean physically, though I am pretty much blind with out my contacts or my glasses, which I only wear at night. Actually since we are going there, I also wear a retainer at night.. my nerdiness has gotten more discreet as I have gotten older. When I was younger it was no secret that I was on the nerdy end of things.. pretty sure the glasses, braces, and nightly head-gear left no room to wonder. My beauty was inside, deep, deep, deep inside, not even remotely close to the outside. Oh what a tangent I'm on..

Anyway, back to my vision problems, I mean I have had serious issues when it comes to the way I see myself and the world around me. Obviously, when I tell you that I often flirted with the idea of suicide and spent excessive amounts of time harming myself through both cutting and bulimia, it is evident I didn't see things clearly. My interactions with boys also confirmed my skewed vision, I devalued my body, and quietly looked to guys to show me if I was worthy, because inside I didn't feel it. Family issues added to it, and broken friendships confirmed the lies I believed all the more, until I was walking around with a perception of life that was so ridiculously far from the truth, it is a wonder I made it as long as I did.

So how did I go from being that girl to this one? (Though you must know, I am still trying to figure out who exactly 'this one' is. But I do know that I like 'this one' a lot more than I liked 'that one'.) It took death. I had to put that old Jessica to death and be raised again in Christ, because only in Him was I going to be able to see things His way. 

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

What I came to find out in my pursuit of God was that He actually really liked me. So much. He is kind of crazy about me actually. Think about it.. if I told you I was in love with someone who had just been given the death penalty, but I loved them so madly that I was going to take on the death penalty myself, so that they could be free. You would tell me I was out of my mind. I know! I totally agree with you! But that's what our God did for us. He thought we meant more than His life.

So if the Creator of the Universe fancies me. I must be something worth looking twice at. I must be worth more than I thought. Exactly. You are too. 

You are magnificent. A work of art. A masterpiece. You may doubt your worth, but He doesn't. You may doubt your abilities, but He doesn't. You may worry, and be afraid, and stress and be anxious. You may feel hopeless, confused, and broken. He knows. He is ready to heal you and give you new eyes. He wants to restore your perspective so that you are not shaken by the things of this world. In Christ alone you can have security and freedom.

If we don't see ourselves through the eyes of Truth, there is a good chance we will miss out on what we were created for. Doubt, fear, insecurity & unbelief will rob us of the dreams that Heaven has for us and this world will be left yearning for the Light within us that we never realized we had.

"In the same way, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:16