If you aren't yourself, who else is going to be yourself for you? No one can take your place. You are unique. You are special. You are a son or daughter of Heavenly Father.
I was fooling around on YouTube one day and I came across this speech by Lizzie Velasquez. In her speech, she talks about her condition. She says that she has a syndrome that is so rare, it doesn't even have a name for it. Basically, what it does to Lizzie is that she can't gain weight.
In an interview with Fox News Latino last year, Lizzie stated, "I hated my condition because it caused so much pain in my life. Not physical pain, but emotional pain. I mean, being a teenager is hard enough, but being a 13-year-old girl with this syndrome, who is blind in one eye, who weighs 58 pounds, and who is constantly picked on by people is almost unbearable. Now I actually look at my condition as a gift, I honestly think of it as waking up every morning and it's Christmas day and it's something that I'm blessed to have and I want to share this gift with anyone who will have it."
That is why I admire her so much. She calls her condition a "gift." For as long as I can remember, I have always called my short-term memory loss a gift. I call it this because I personally believe that nothing Heavenly Father gives you is bad. He is either going to praise you or teach you a lesson.
My short-term memory loss has caused me some pain. It is so frustrating to not remember even the most simple things. I can't remember what I did yesterday. I can't remember how tot do certain tasks. I have to write everything down. If I write it all down, I will remember.
School was really hard for me as well. When I was in elementary school, my mom would always ask me what I had for lunch that day and I could never tell her because in my mind, that was so long ago. As I attended middle school and high school, I would have a checklist every single day. My mom made it for me. It would have my schedule with directions how to get to my locker and to the class that I needed to be at, my locker number and combination, and my mom would write down if I had to turn in any assignments that day or talk to a teacher before class, etc. It was a life savor. It was how I survived school throughout my life, literally.
Driving around has also been difficult for me. I'm not good with directions. I know my lefts and my rights. I don't know north, south, east, and west. So, I have to have a GPS with me everywhere I drive unless I've been there many times and finally get it locked inside my brain, which is rare, but it happens every once in a while.
I took P.E. in eighth grade. One day during class, we were playing baseball or dodgeball (I can't remember what sport it was) and I threw the ball to the wrong team. I was so embarrassed and I ran into the girl's locker room sobbing my eyes out. One of my classmates followed me into the locker room. We talked for a little bit and I told her that I just wanted to know why I received this gift (I call it a gift because nothing from Heavenly Father is bad. It is simply a gift in disguise.) and she said something that I have never forgotten and will never forget. She said, "Because you have this gift, you were one of the highest followers in the war in heaven." That day, I realized how important I was to my Heavenly Father. I realized how much He loves me and is mindful of me. I realized that I am His daughter and I am precious in His eyes. I realized that I am enough for Him.
It may not seem that you are enough right now, but let me assure you, you ARE!
I saw this video a few months ago and I encourage every woman to see it.
I saw this video, made by the same man as well and I encourage every man to see it.
All these things have helped me remember how blessed I am to know that God lives. I am His daughter and He will always love me no matter what. I am enough in His eyes. As long as I am faithful, He will guide me in the path that He wants me to take. I am grateful for all Heavenly Father does for me and I hope to become more like Him every single day for the rest of my life.
If I feel that I am enough in God's eyes, I know He believes that you are enough in His eyes too. If you are struggling with your faith or feel like you aren't good enough for anyone, trust me. You are good enough for me. :)
