Be Yourself...By Nina Keegan Owens

Imagine with me for a moment a beautiful mountain side meadow covered in wildly blooming flowers of every imaginable persuasion. There is a brooding herd of wild horses so unexpectedly rare stopping to drink in the crystal clear stream that had been formed by the pure mountain snows that had so recently melted. These melting rivers of snow create cascading waterfalls as they stream down the cliffs etching out valleys within the mountain's walls. The stream's glassy, mirror like, finish reflects the glorious magesty of mother nature's hand standing so statuesquely above its banks. The day is crisp and has a chill in the sweet air. With a unique clarity you can see the dew drops teetering on their host blades of bright green grass. The sky is vibrant and brilliantly colored . The earth it seems is a hollographic reflection of pristine beauty. The day is astoundingly perfect and breath taking in its splendor. It is beyond the likes of any day we have ever seen before.

Now if I were to ask you all to sit down with a sketch pad, pencils, paints, and colorful markers and requested you each draw how you saw that scene in your mind as you read the words, what would your drawing look like? Were your mountains rocky, covered in pine trees, or topped with snow? What colors and varieties were all of the wild flowers? The horses, how many did you see and what colors were they? How did you picture the stream, the meadow, and the waterfalls? Did you visualize a sunny sky, or a bright blue one dotted with clouds?

If we all were to hang our drawings side by side in a beautiful art gallery, we would see that no two would ever be alike. Not even close! Even though we all are drawing the same exact scene, our minds think so differently. Every drawing would be so highly individualized. Some may be very abstract, colorful and left to our own interpretations. Others like a perfect photograph crafted from the depths of our minds. Our visions are all so unique. We are absolutely incapable of seeing, thinking, learning, visualizing and creating something exactly like someone else.


God has made us all to be unparalleled individuals. The Bible says that He has drawn each of us, we are His art work. We are one of a kind, individuals, we all have certain talents and gifts that we share with no other soul on this planet.

Jeremiah 31:3
The Lord appeared to us saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving kindness."

If we can grasp the concept that we are not ever meant to be just like someone else, that it is a complete impossibility, we can stop comparing ourselves to others and stop wishing we could be different. We are always looking over our shoulders to see how we measure up to the next person in line. We beat ourselves up in our comparison processes. We seem to go through a mental check list to see where we fit in, or where we don't. We are always trying to stack the deck in our favor by mentally inflating our attributes. We rationalize our inferiorities and insecurities in our minds. We spend so much time trying to be something were not that we miss out on being the fearfully and wonderfully made human beings that God designed us to be. When we constantly compare ourselves to others and give in to our secret qualms, we are basically telling God that he did not do a good enough job with us. He must have screwed up somewhere right? I have even heard people say that they must have been in the back of the line when God was doling out the talents.

We have our long, on going lists of changes we'd make if only we could. Wouldn't it just be great to be prettier, smarter, thinner, taller, more outgoing, happier, more content in our lives? We think of all the possibilities. What you do not realize is that many others are looking up to you and are envious of your many wonderful qualities too. We can even be envious of someone else's level of faith. We often wish that we had that same kind of relationship with the Lord.

Not one of us will ever pray the same or have the same walk with God as those people we hold in such high reguard. The fact of the matter is, God does not love them any more than He loves you. We are never going to be just like every one else in any arena except in the arena of God's infinite love for us all. God reaches us all differently but loves us the same. We are called to worship Him through His grace and His glory not our own.

Having a negative attitude and an insecure way of thinking will stifle your abilities. Not embracing all the wonderful attributes you do have, will prevent you from becoming all that God made you to be. We simply step over rocks to pick up stones. Metaphorically speaking, we try so hard to be like someone else or to get what someone else has that we overlook and never see the full benefits of all the amazing attributes we ourselves possess.

For those of us that are parents, we often marvel at how completely different each of our children are even though they are growing up in the exact same environment. The reason is simple, they are who God has made them to be. No two alike! We need to embrace our individuality and run with it. When we can learn to love ourselves 100% completely and wholely, good and bad, we will be amazed at the favor of God that will present itself in our lives. The shift in blessings and opportunities that will be awarded you when you start being yourself will be astounding.

We are after all created in God's very image. The scriptures say that He has prepared good works for each of us to do, and to walk in. We have a purpose, a talent, a mind and a soul that cannot be duplicated ever!

Ephesians 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

It's time to stand up and be proud of who you are. Others can like you or not, we don't all have to click with everyone all the time. We only need to do what we are meant to do for God and Him alone. You have every right to think the way you think, to feel the way you feel. Be who you are meant to be. You are a complete package all tied up with God's securely woven ribbons, and sealed with His mighty stamp of approval. You can make your own decisions and your own mistakes. You get to follow your own dreams and not some dream some one else decided you should have. You are exactly who you are for reasons and purposes that only God knows. If we knew what God knows, we would never change a thing! So go paint that picture in your mind exactly how you see it! Your drawing will be a perfect creation. You should never feel like less of a person because you dont fit into someone else's box ... You can just get a bigger and better box!

Psalm139
O LORD, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, LORD.
You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
Even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!


Thank you Father that you made me so unique and with a wonderful purpose in mind! I pray that I can be filled with your grace to follow the path you have designed for me. Thank you!! In Jesus name..
Amen