Shake it Off
By Emilie (13)
‘Alright everyone, line-up in order from tallest to shortest!’
‘Oh great.’
I have always been tall for my age. I have always been the tallest girl in my class and sometimes even the tallest kid in my class. When I was younger, it didn’t bother me. Back then nobody really noticed what each other wore or how they looked. But now, people look. They notice and say things like, ‘Wow, you’re tall! How old are you? I bet you are the tallest in your class!'
It wasn’t long before I started to feel really self-conscious. I tried not to wear clothes that made my legs look too long, or too skinny, and I avoided shoes that made my feet look too big. I often worried about what I would wear and if it was good enough. I wanted everyone to like what I was wearing, and if they didn’t, I would spend the rest of the day worrying about it. I took what people said about me to heart. This was a really hard time.
Two things that have helped me through these struggles are talking to people who I can trust and reading Bible verses like these:
You are altogether beautiful, my darling, beautiful in every way.
Song of Songs 4:7 (NLT)
But by the grace of God I am what I am...
1 Corinthians 15:10 (NIV)
The reason why Bible verses have helped me is because, as a Christian, I trust what God and His Word says. I know that what the Bible says is true. I know that it isn’t just words on a piece of paper. These verses have such true and deep meaning.
My advice and challenge to you, no matter where you are on your faith journey, is to know that God made you just how you were meant to be. Have faith and believe that you are ‘wonderfully made’ (Psalm 139:14 NIV). You are beautiful, just the way you are, so what’s the point of worrying all the time? The best thing is to accept yourself for who you are and how you look. Ignore the haters. In the words of Taylor Swift, ‘Shake it off.’ Hold on to the truth of what God says about you.
PROMPT: Do the words you speak about yourself line up with what your heavenly Father says about you? What do you need to stop saying? What do you need to start saying?
PRAYER: Read these words from Psalm 139:1-18 (TPT) aloud as a prayer.
1Lord, you know everything there is to know about me.
2 You perceive every movement of my heart and soul,
and you understand my every thought before it even enters my mind.
3–4 You are so intimately aware of me, Lord.
You read my heart like an open book
and you know all the words I’m about to speak
before I even start a sentence!
You know every step I will take before my journey even begins.
5 You’ve gone into my future to prepare the way,
and in kindness you follow behind me
to spare me from the harm of my past.
With your hand of love upon my life,
you impart a blessing to me.
6 This is just too wonderful, deep, and incomprehensible!
Your understanding of me brings me wonder and strength.
7 Where could I go from your Spirit?
Where could I run and hide from your face?
8 If I go up to heaven, you’re there!
If I go down to the realm of the dead, you’re there too!
9 If I fly with wings into the shining dawn, you’re there!
If I fly into the radiant sunset, you’re there waiting!
10 Wherever I go, your hand will guide me;
your strength will empower me.
11 It’s impossible to disappear from you
or to ask the darkness to hide me,
for your presence is everywhere, bringing light into my night.
12 There is no such thing as darkness with you.
The night, to you, is as bright as the day;
there’s no difference between the two.
13 You formed my innermost being, shaping my delicate inside
and my intricate outside,
and wove them all together in my mother’s womb.
14 I thank you, God, for making me so mysteriously complex!
Everything you do is marvelously breathtaking.
It simply amazes me to think about it!
How thoroughly you know me, Lord!
15 You even formed every bone in my body
when you created me in the secret place,
carefully, skillfully shaping me from nothing to something.
16 You saw who you created me to be before I became me!
Before I’d ever seen the light of day,
the number of days you planned for me
were already recorded in your book.
17–18 Every single moment you are thinking of me!
How precious and wonderful to consider
that you cherish me constantly in your every thought!
O God, your desires toward me are more
than the grains of sand on every shore!
When I awake each morning, you’re still with me.
