Lesson for the Week

We’re Worth It

As I was driving down the road the other day to pick up my daughter, I found myself thinking of my marriage. Now, in general this is not a pleasant topic for me; but on this particular day, my emotions were running high. What I found myself thinking is the dreaded, “what if?” What if I had waited longer before getting married? What if I had listened to my mother (that’s a hard one, right)? What if I had paid better attention to those red flags that were in front of my face? What if he and I had taken the time to go through counseling the way we should have? Well, I can give you one answer to all of those “what if” questions… (Drum roll please)… I most likely would have never gotten married to my ex-husband in the first place. That conclusion led me to the question you’ve probably all asked yourself at one time or another… “If I could go back in time, knowing what I know now, would I do anything different? Would I still get married to my ex, knowing that I would have to go through the pain of being spiritually and emotionally abused?” For some, that answer would be easy. For me it was. The answer was yes. OK, some of you at this point are going, “…and I listen to what she has to say? I didn’t know she was crazy!” Well, maybe I am, but not on this point. I knew that if I went back in time and changed anything, I would not be the mother of the one and only, awesome and wonderful, Zoe Grace Earp. Though there are days I’m ready to lose my mind as a parent, I wouldn’t trade her for anything else in the world. She is worth the pain, the stress, and the fear that I went through in my marriage. And as that thought was sitting at the forefront of my brain, I heard God say three little words… “So are you.” WOW! I was amazed and humbled all at the same time. I felt so much love in that moment, it was incredible. So I began to think about it from Jesus’ perspective. He was sent here to die for us. He was beaten and bruised, insulted, and nailed to a cross so that we could have relationship with the Father. Jesus went through His life knowing that He was going to die a slow and painful death, yet he knew that we were worth that price. Take a minute to let that marinate in your brain. Accepting that you are worth that kind of sacrifice… knowing that you mean that much to God… is the bridge to learning to love yourself and others. The next time your self-esteem starts to take a nose dive, remember what God did for you. Remember that God loved you so much “that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NIV)