This post took a little bit of a different turn then the rest of my posts. I hope you enjoy it!

“Sticks and Stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Oh how untrue these words are…because words absolutely do hurt! In fact, words have the power to build us up, but they also have the same power to tear us down.

“Cry baby, cry baby, cry baby” As these words were verbally hurled at my little girl self on the school playground, the tears that were already upon my face began trickling down my face as fast as the words were thrown at me. As a little girl, I was not the prettiest or the most popular but rather was the one being picked on or even bullied in some definitions of the word. It hurt every fiber of my being, yet I somehow seemed to have found a way to forgive those individuals.

Even though I forgave those individuals, body image has never been easy for me. I’ve always seen myself as the heavier one; as the average one. It has taken me a long time to accept my body. Today I finally am at a place where I am *mostly* happy with how I look.

Perhaps because of my own experiences; each of our experiences of being hurt, it is so easy for us to get caught up in the numbers game. I too find myself looking more at my statistics; wondering why my post didn’t get as many views as someone elses. My rational self realizes that there over a thousand of us participating in this #write31days challenge and it will take time for us to look at new posts etc. But my irrational self wants that immediate gratification! And then….I realize how this shouldn’t be and isn’t a numbers game, but rather is about being a beloved child of God; “fearfully and wonderfully made.” Something that my Momma has taught me and continues to teach me. She always tells my sister and I how proud she is of us, how beautiful we are. She is the ultimate example for me of what it means to live and believe that God has called you as one of God’s own beloved children.

So, to the homeless person on the street…I shout….Hey, You, Child of God;
God loves you and so do I!

And to the momma struggling today….I say….Hey, You, Child of God;
God loves you and so do I!

For all those who are in the depths of the darkness….I remind you who you are by saying….
Hey, You, Child of God; God loves you and so do I!

To all of you being pulled in by the numbers game…I say to you…Hey, You, Child of God;
God loves you and so do I!

To my Mom and all those who daily struggle with a mental illness, I also say to you……
Hey, You, child of God; God loves you and so do I!

The truth is that it is so easy to get caught up in what others think of us; to get caught up in how every one else views us. But the beauty is that we are beloved children of God; called and claimed by God. God wants you to know you are loved. You are beautiful. You are cared for. You are valued! And you belong here amongst God’s children.

So for all of us; for all of YOU….God’s beloved children…I shout from the mountaintops,
Hey, You, Children of God; God loves each of you and so do I!