Trusting our own best self

Camp Miniwanca,  Lake Michigan

To thine own self be true. William Shakespeare

On this day, I will nurture my true self by no longer living in fear and by not worrying about things that are none of my business. Daily Affirmations

It came as a laser beam of light and energy: my own self, at my very best,all of the time. It happened on the shores of Lake Michigan. I was 17. It has served as a north star for me ever since.
 

But this isn't about creating a false self, apart from God. It is about trusting our God-given and created self. If I never learn to trust anyone, how will I trust God?  One of the tasks of human development is to learn to trust. The play between trust and distrust is emblematic of any phase of our lives, from infancy to old old adulthood. 

Of course, we are not our own best selves all of the time. We may try to improve on being created in God's image and likeness.  We may have learned to distrust. Maybe we were hurt by someone who claimed to be religious, who used the name of Christ to judge us instead of to accept us. Perhaps we were told that the abuse we suffered as children was for our own good - or it was supposed to protect us when in reality, the opposite was true. We lost trust- in ourselves, in others, in God- to keep us safe.

Recovering the image of God in us means we can trust ourselves as God created us and loved us to be. Accepting our powerlessness over the actions and words of others is a start. Better to move toward self- acceptance, the good from which trusting God and other people is possible.

It is God's gift to give.