EMbrace Yourself

 “BRACE YOURSELF!!!” I’m sure most of you have heard that saying before.
When I hear that saying, it reminds me of Niagara Falls. If I were to be on a boat heading straight for the falls…yah, I’d probably brace myself…or something like that.

Photo Credit: Los Herdts 

   During our hard times, we often have this outlook of “brace yourself”& be brave!
Hold on, amiga, because you’re about to go off the edge. Slap a smile on your face, hold on to a rope or something, and just keep moving forward.

   I have a challenge for you. The next time you hit a rough spot (or maybe you’re in one right now), EMbrace yourself. Embrace yourself? Yes. Embrace yourself. I think far too often we’re trying to look strong, to hang on for dear life, and to just keep moving. But far too often do we forget to embrace ourselves. How do we embrace ourselves?

1: Embrace your identity. Your identity is not your weight on the scale, your shoe size, your social security number, your status on Facebook, or your race. Girlie, you are a child of God!! Woo! What does that mean? That means you are the child (a princess) of the greatest being to ever exist! You are the child of a King, of a God, of an all-knowing being. And His divinity pulses through your veins. You are divine. And that means you have deep power, deep beauty, and deep identity. So the next time you fall, embrace your identity.

2: Embrace who you are. All too often we focus on what we hate about myself. My gosh, my hips are the size of the Titanic. My pickles, I talk like a man. I’m too impatient. I’m too ugly. I’m too gross. Na-na-na-na-no. Ladies, striving to become like Christ does not mean we should hate ourselves in the process. Look in the mirror and just embrace all that is beautiful and divine and heavenly inside of you. Embrace the beauty of your soul. God has given you gifts, so embrace who you are.

3: Embrace Christ. Christ is the best hugger in the world. His arms are just waiting for you to leap into them. He is just calling out to you, regardless of how broken or dirty you are. He knows who you are and He is just waiting for you to come so He can share what He knows. As we promise to “take upon ourselves the name of Christ” at baptism, Christ truly becomes part of us. This is the god who died for you, the man who saved you, and the lord who knows you better than the world does. So embrace Him. Hug Him. Run to Him. He wants you regardless of how dirty you are.

So EMBRACE YOURSELF! Hold on, sisters, to the deep beauty and identity inside of you. Hold on to your strengths. Hold on to Christ. You’ll make it through.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

-Julie