The List
When was the last time you sat down and made a list of positive adjectives about yourself? A specific list generated only by you and about you? A list that was crafted by you without anyone’s help. Truth is that this list can be one of the most challenging things to formulate if you have never taken the time to sat down and think of positive adjectives about yourself. The unfortunate thing is, we could probably come up with a list of negative things much quicker than a list of positive things about ourselves. How we view ourselves is important and what we say and think about ourselves matters.
This task was actually given to me as “homework” last week to do. I didn’t exactly play by the rules at first and if I were to be honest, I just wanted to generate a quick list and not waste a ton of time thinking about specific adjectives about myself. There were a few moments when I felt kind of uncomfortable, unsure, and not willing to dig deep. So, I did what anyone else would do in this position… I texted my mom.
Me: “Hey! What are 3 adjectives you would say about me?”
Mom: “Loving, Passionate and Thrifty.”
Me: “Thanks!”
I said to myself, those are good! So, jotted those down on a piece of paper and thought… I have this homework assignment in the bag!
The day comes when my “homework” is due. So, I hopped onto Zoom to meet with my friend who invited me to be a part of her project campaign and who also assigned this homework assignment for me compile. She asked, “so… do you have your list ready?” I smiled and said confidently said, yes. But I willingly explained that I had help with creating the list because I was unsure about the words, I would have chosen for myself. My friend graciously validated the words I shared with her from “my list”, (loving, passionate, and thrifty) but encouraged me to come up with my own words. She expressed that she was more interested in the words that I would have picked for myself rather than the words chosen by someone else. She mentioned that this was something for me to do individually and it was significant for the project. As we sat there on zoom, I began to reflect on this.
Why is it so hard to come up with positive adjectives?
Do I feel conceded?
Do I think I am undeserving?
Do I believe that it’s not important?
Am I insecure?
During our Zoom meeting I started writing my list as my friend encouraged and empowered me to take the time and reflect. I had to tell myself, it was okay and to write what I thought was true of myself, unapologetically.
Little did I know that the time used to create this list of “my positive adjectives” would not be a waste of time but a window of perspective of how God sees me and designed me.
God loves His daughters and has a destiny for each one in His Kingdom. God has created each daughter uniquely with diverse characteristics, giftings, abilities, personalities, nationalities, and purposes.
When I think about how intimately we are created and how the Lord rejoices over His daughters I can only imagine this is what He says every day to His daughters…
She’s my beloved
She’s my daughter
She’s a warrior
She’s fierce
She’s lovable
She’s worthy
She’s enough
She’s meek
She’s forgiven
She’s unstoppable
She’s confident
She’s humble
She’s kind
She’s humorous
She’s sensitive
She’s comforting
She’s beautiful
She’s strong
She’s passionate
She’s fearless
She’s a helper
She’s spunky
She’s thoughtful
She’s joyful
She’s a worshiper
She’s courageous
Let’s go back and reread that list and let those words sink in for a moment.
What God says and thinks about us goes far BEYOND than just this tiny list, but it is definitely a starting point to helping us understand how much God ADORES His daughters.
Psalms 139:13-18 mentions how precious God’s thoughts are towards us. Let’s take a look at these verses together.
“For You formed my innermost parts; You knit me [together] in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks and praise to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was being formed in secret, And intricately and skillfully formed [as if embroidered with many colors] in the depths of the earth. Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written. The days that were appointed for me, when as yet there was not one of them [even taking shape] How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I could count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You.”
Ask the Lord to speak to your heart about the words He says about you. Let those words wash over you and build you up in Him. Let’s discover how we can align our thoughts with His thoughts each day. As we set our minds on things above and not below. We can stand confidently on His word declaring what He says over us every day.
I am His beloved, I am His daughter, I am fearfully and wonderfully made, I am chosen, I am fearless, I am confident, and I am secure.
I encourage you to create your own list of positive adjectives this week. You can also invite a friend to do this activity with you. Take some time and make a list of 6-8 positive adjectives and then from that list circle your top 3. These 3 adjectives would be the ones you would then share with a friend.
There is JOY in knowing and believing what God says about you. When we reflect and think about how God has uniquely created each and every one of us we can find JOY in that. We can find JOY in those personal positive adjectives and celebrate how God has designed you and me.
The more we align our thoughts with His thoughts the more we will be able to confidently say and write what He already says about us.
We are fearfully and wonderfully made. Unapologetically.
