Restore My SoulSample

Don’t Fight It—Own It

“Is your hair naturally wavy?” The flight attendant asked as she handed me a pack of pretzels, the bag crinkling in her hand.

“Yeah,” I smiled and nodded.

“How do you take care of it? My hair recently got super wavy, but I don’t know what to do with it.”

“Own it,” I told her. “If God gave you curls, don’t fight them, own them. That’s the best advice I can give. Don’t try to tame them or brush them out. Put a little gel or curl cream on your curls and let them do their thing.”

God gave me curls and a love of words and music. I didn’t always love these parts of myself. I even tried to fight them. I wanted straight hair, to be athletic like the cool kids, not a bookworm, well, like nerdy me. And it didn’t seem fair that I loved music but couldn’t sing. But God is showing me that how He made me is exactly how I most shine. My curls are part of my personality. My love of words and stories is exactly what I needed to be a writer. Listening and singing off-key to music in my car, kitchen, church, or wherever brings me joy, energizes me, and soothes my soul.

God might have given you unbelievable portions of patience, the ability to fix things, and an uncanny sense of smell that detects rain, dogs, your best friend, or a taco truck long before they come into view.

Before you were born God knew you. He loved you. He carefully considered every aspect of you. God wanted to create a completely unique, wonderful human being that would reflect His image, and then He intentionally knit together all the ways you think, look, feel, process, and respond. He paused at His new creation and said, “Yes! This one is wonderful.”

This is what God thinks of you. Do you think the same—that you’re wonderful?

List some qualities you love about yourself. Thank God for making you like this.

Now list something about yourself you don’t love as much. Sit with your Creator and ask Him to help you see yourself as He does—exactly how He intended you, wonderful.

Before you were born, God set you apart for goodness and grace. He was pleased with you before you took your first breath. He doesn’t want you to compare yourself to anyone else, because how He made you is perfect in His eyes. Everything God has given you was incredibly and lovingly thought out by Him. What He put in you, He put in you for good. Own it!

Read Psalm 139:1-16

Read Galatians 1:15

Read Galatians 6:4

For more soul restoration check out Laura L. Smith's newest book Restore My Soul: The Power and Promise of 30 Psalms