Scripture: Psalms 139:14

Activity – Create a hanging mirror

Supplies needed:

• 4-inch metal or wood ring hoops
• 4-inch round mirror tiles
• 75 pieces of 12cm pieces of yarn (choice of different colors)
• One 12-inch piece of yarn (same color if so desired)
• 2-beads
• Cardboard
• Felt
• Glue Gun
• Pencil
• Comb

Instructions:

Take each cut piece of yarn, place it under the ring, and then loop it to tie it to the ring. Complete this process until the ring is covered with colored pieces of yarn. Then take the comb and unravel the yarn by combing through it. Take scissors and trim around the edges to make it neat. Use the mirror as a pattern to cut a circle out of the cardboard and felt. Place glue around the outside rim and place the mirror face down. Cover the mirror with cardboard. Use the 12-in piece of yarn and place a bead on each side of the yard at the top, leaving space between the two beads but making a knot under each side so they don’t slide off. Take the end of the yarn and glue that to the back of the cardboard. Glue the felt on top of the cardboard. Let dry. Check Pinterest for other ideas.

Don’t Be Swayed by Anything

I believe the first exposure to self–esteem for me came from this famous quote. “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” The 1812 Brothers Grimm fairy tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was made famous in 1937 by the Disney version, where the Evil Queen is so jealous of her stepdaughter’s beauty that she goes to extreme measures to get rid of her. Instead of seeing her beauty, the Queen focused on what the mirror told her.

As far back as I can remember, I have struggled with my body image. My body was much more developed than most girls in elementary school, and I struggled with weight. I can’t remember when I wasn’t trying some new type of craze diet or some workout my older sister was dragging me to attend. For years I was just not comfortable in my own skin.

Are we sometimes like the Evil Queen swayed by the thoughts and comments of others? When we focus on the opinions of others to build our self–esteem, we run the risk of doing the complete opposite. When we depend on people’s thoughts that don’t line up with how we feel about ourselves or that may point out negative criticism, we can become overtaken by depression and feelings of inadequacy. This can lead us to believe we are unloved. I forgot that we are created in God’s image. We need to ask ourselves the questions in Galatians 1:10, “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings or God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

I have learned that only through understanding who’s I am and how much He loves me that I have been able to understand and love myself. Throughout the Bible, we are reminded that we were created in God’s image. If we were created in God’s image, then we must be loving, kind, strong, and forgiving to others but most of all to ourselves. God did not have this cookie–cutter mold and created one type of person. We were all created so beautifully different, which is why this world is so amazing.

Ephesians 4:14, 15 says, “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is, Christ.”

Have you gone into the ocean with a small child? Even if they are not my children, I get nervous because it can be very dangerous if a strong wave comes up. Even as adults, it’s hard to withstand the pull of a strong tide. But as we get older, we learn to maintain our balance. We decide how far out we go in the water. The same can be said of those that continue to put us down or say hurtful things to us. We must not only identify those people in our lives and remove them. But we must learn God’s truth about who we are and why we were created. He is the only one that has those answers. We must read the bible to learn His truth and develop our relationship with Him to build our self–esteem so that we are not looking to others to build us up. We should not be so concerned with how they perceive us but be more concerned if we are leading and living the life God has given us. We should not allow anyone to break our spirit.

As you have created your mirror, I pray that you will hang it in a place that will remind you of how important you are to God. He does not care if your gray hair is showing, if one eyebrow is lower than the other, if your nose is large or small, or if you have blemishes. He already knows! And guess what … He loves you just the way you are. He wants you to bring Him those things that are hurting you. He wants you to give Him the places in your heart that you won’t let others see. Allow Him to see you. When you look in that mirror, allow the reflection coming back to be whom God sees as you are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps. 139:14).