You're Glorious

A few weeks ago I was on my phone responding to several messages I had received. I had about 4-5 different conversations I was juggling as well as posting on my different accounts. I recently created a schedule for my weekdays and I've added in a "phone check" time every few hours and I was just getting used to trying to do as much as I can in the designated time slot, so my mind was frazzled. I had posted on my regular account's story about my recent @bealittleTOOkind post and tagged that account. I then went BACK to the @bealittleTOOkind account to respond to messages. While responding, I got a new notification which I THOUGHT was the previous person I had been messaging so I clicked over quickly and saw what LOOKED like her sharing my post in her stories. I "hearted" the message and then wrote to her, "You're glorious." At that moment, I received another new notification. As I glanced up to see who it was from, I was confused. It said it was from the girl I thought I was already talking to. I immediately started to scroll up in the "You're glorious" thread to see who I was ACTUALLY talking to and lo and behold, it was myself. When I had tagged myself on my other account, it sent the notification to my @bealittleTOOkind account as usual. My brain was so frazzled with back and forth and answering messages that it didn't occur to me I was writing to myself when I said, "You're glorious." I immediately felt a sense of embarrassment rush over me. You know when you're in the car and the lighting is just TOO good to pass up you have take a selfie? Then after you take it, you notice that someone in the car next to you or walking by was watching you take that selfie? And then you wanna sink down into your car seat so deep that you disappear? No? No one? Just me? Ok, ok, ok. 😂 Anyway, it felt like that. For some odd reason I felt like everyone who follows me saw me type to myself, "You're glorious." I felt weird. Gross even. I wanted to delete the message immediately. But just as I was about to delete it I heard this still small voice whisper, "But you ARE glorious. Why are you embarrassed to tell yourself that you're glorious?" I paused. Wait a second. Why WAS I embarrassed? I thought. I stopped myself from deleting the message and left it to be a forever reminder of ME telling ME how awesome I am, something I rarely IF EVER do.

I don't usually use the word glorious. I mean, it's not void from my vocabulary but it's very rare that I use it and I wondered why I had chosen to use the word glorious on that particular day in that particular moment. I'm a deep thinker and I believe that everything happens for a reason so I wanted to dive into what kind of spiritual meaning or message was being delivered to me that day. Why did I need to hear that I was GLORIOUS of all words. Obviously, I knew what glorious meant, but I wanted a deeper look at the word and it's meanings. I looked up the word in my dictionary  and this was the definition:

Glorious: divine; delightful; wonderful; completely enjoyable; full of glory; entitled to great renown or honor; brilliantly beautiful or magnificent; splendid.

Synonyms: beautiful, bright, brilliant, dazzling, delightful, enjoyable, famous, gorgeous, grand, gratifying, great, heroic, illustrious, magnificent, marvelous, memorable, noble, remarkable, shining, splendid, superb, triumphant, effulgent, elevated, esteemed, exalted, heavenly, honored, majestic, notable, radiant, venerable

The list went on and on, full of the most exquisite adjectives describing the word glorious. I literally sat in silence after reading the description and list of synonyms and cried. Actually no, I bawled my eyes out like Kim Kardashian when she was robbed in France. It was full on ugly, lip curl, chest jerking (you know the kind) SOBBING because I never in a million years would have told myself that I was all of these things. Yet there I was, writing somewhat of a lengthy detailed love letter to myself smashed into two little words: you're glorious.

The awkward yet eye opening moment got me thinking about displaying true charity in regards to ourselves. The short version of this story is, I suck at it. I like to think I hold myself in high regard. I meannnnnnn, I'm constantly portraying a confident girl, almost cocky even, who is basically the CEO of the WORLD. I walk around the gym like I own it; Austin calls me the gym bully. I claim to be able to fight and take down any and everyone, including NBA players who need to up their leg game *cough* Mike Conley *cough*. I think I'm the MASTER professional driver and everyone needs to take note of my "aggressively safe" driving style as I call it. I'm HILARIOUS (enough said about that) and I could probably teach a CLASS on how to be the coolest most likeable human on earth but then everyone would know and I wouldn't BE that human anymore. Which is why I don't. I’m KIDDING. Calm down, haters. CALM. DOWN. (insert KidzBop Karen voice and hand motion). So yes, I do THINK I think highly of myself but when it really comes down to it, and it did, I was embarrassed. So obviously, I don't. There's a quote I saved a while back from John Bytheway that explains how charity is three-dimensional. He says, "Charity encompasses love FOR Christ, love FROM Christ, and love LIKE Christ. In other words, to experience the pure love of Christ means to feel Christ's love for you, to love Christ purely yourself, and to love others purely as Christ loves them." Clearly, loving myself more entirely is something I need to work on in my adventure to have TRUE charity for everyone around me.

When I am able to feel the amount of love that God has for ME, I am able to love myself more fully and in turn, others around me. To put it into perspective I imagine a parent/child relationship. I look at my children and the amount of love I have for them which is immeasurable. It is not dependent on their behavior. It does not decrease, it only grows. It has no boundaries and no end. My love for my children is shown to them daily through my words and actions. By allowing them to feel this love every single day, the confidence and love they have for themselves grows. Now think of our Father in Heaven's love for each of us as HIS children. Dieter Uchtdorf said, "Think of the purest, most all-consuming love you can imagine. Now multiply that love by an infinite amount. THAT is the measure of God's love for YOU." When we take the time to recognize the love He has for us, to read the words that testify of this love, and learn of the actions He has taken to SHOW us this love, the same thing happens to us. We begin to love ourselves more fully because our Heavenly Father loves us infinitely.

When I read the words that described what glorious meant, I didn't cry JUST because I had written it to myself. I cried because I know that my Heavenly Father would write every single one of those same words about me plus a MILLION MORE if he could. I cried because I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he thinks the WORLD of me. I KNOW this because of the blessings I have and the miracles I have witnessed throughout my life. I know this because of the sacrifice he has made by sending his only begotten son to this earth to atone for me. I know because I read the words and stories in the scriptures that HE has provided for me to learn from and gain a testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know because he has given me a beautiful family and provided a way for us to be sealed together for time and all eternity. I know because he gives everyone this SAME opportunity if not here on earth, then in the afterlife. I am reminded of the truth of His love for me every single day as I look at this magnificent earth He has created and given us. HE. LOVES. ME. I should love me too. ♥️

I want to challenge all of you to comment, email, or message me TEN UPLIFTING ADJECTIVES that YOU think Heavenly Father would write when describing YOU. You're not allowed to be embarrassed! Ten words that make you smile, maybe even cry. Ten words you can write on your bathroom mirror with an expo marker, tape to your laptop, or make your home screen on your phone. I don't care where you decide to put them but I want you to put them somewhere you will see them everyday, multiple times a day! And promise me that when you see these words, you will say to yourself OUTLOUD (if you can), 

"My Heavenly Father thinks I am 

(list them all off one by one). 

He loves me more than I will ever 

be able to fully comprehend and 

I LOVE ME TOO." 

Then do that weird self hug/pat on the back thing our elementary school teachers made us do when we made it a full week without anyone getting on red or having to move their clip which earned us a popcorn party. Or don’t, but at least have the popcorn party. 🍿