From time to time I have had the feeling that I am not enough. Maybe you have had that feeling before, too. There are plenty of voices that will whisper that lie in your ear if you are willing to listen to them. I used to worry that I wasn’t pretty enough, or curvy enough (now sometimes I think I am too curvy, but that’s just how that goes.) There were times when I thought I wasn’t popular enough or talented enough.

As women we sometimes listen to voices that tell us we are not good enough. Not sexy enough or not smart enough. Not organized enough or creative enough. Not young enough or old enough. Sometimes we even hear that we are not spiritual enough. I think it’s healthy when we can do an honest self-evaluation, see where we fall short in some areas that we definitely need to improve, but I think it becomes of utmost importance whose voice we hear during those evaluations.

Do you hear the voice of a critical parent, or harsh teacher? How about a hurtful spouse or catty girlfriend? How about someone who is always all too ready to point out your shortcomings? Some people survive by measuring the worth of others as less than their own. What they may not realize is those words, not spoken in love, wound our identity. It changes how we see who we are. It influences the value we place on ourselves.

How we see ourselves depends largely on whom we listen to. Who are you listening to? What voice rattles around in your head, getting top billing? I recently had to take my dad to the emergency room. As a part of every initial evaluation, regardless of the reason you came to the hospital, someone comes in and asks the question, “Do you ever have thoughts of harming yourself?” I listened closely to my dad’s response. He cracked a smile and told the nurse, “Nah, I like myself too much for that!” It’s true, my dad is probably the most comfortable person with himself I know.

Some of you are thinking, “That must be nice.” Men do seem to accomplish this state of being better than women do. My husband can tell me that I am beautiful every day, but there are lots of days when I look into the mirror and wonder what he sees exactly. I mean, I see the belly that won’t flatten out again no matter what. I see the grey hairs that multiply like rabbits. I see wrinkles and sags, spots and bags. I look into my magnifying mirror and wonder, “Who’s beautiful?” Then I begin to worry about what drugs my husband must be on.

So how about we set the record straight. Here’s the truth. You ARE enough. You are. How do I know this to be true? Because the Bible tells me that,

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14

The psalmist wrote that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. He then points out basically that God doesn’t make any junk. He made you to be just what you are. You are enough. You are. I am, too.

Yes we have shortfalls, and weaknesses. Yes, we all have areas in our lives that God wants to grow us and make us more like Christ. But even with all that, we are enough. We are enough because when He formed us in the womb, He knew what He was doing. He didn’t flub it up.

So what should our response be to this amazing news? Our response should be to recognize that He is also enough. His love is enough, His peace is enough, His joy is enough. He is all we need, and He thinks we are the cat’s meow. If God had a refrigerator, (Where else would He keep his moose tracks ice cream?) your picture would be on it. You are enough, not because I say so, but because He does.