fearfully and wonderfully made

so there is this great organization out there called wonderfullymade and they have a great mission of helping young and teenage women find and know their value in God. i actually found out about them a few years ago when i got a follower request on twitter. i have really enjoyed following them over the years, whether on facebook, instagram, twitter, or their website and blog.

so about a week or so ago on instagram they started this "campaign" with the tag #wonderfullymadeshe and they are asking women to share their favorite "selfie" and tell what it means to be fearfully and wonderfully made. looking through the pictures of other women and seeing what they had to say is such an encouragement. i decided tonight to do it myself. and i can expand on it a bit here.

my original description says, "Being Fearfully and Wonderfully Made means who cares how weird and awkward I am, embrace it, because God made me that way, and He doesn't make mistakes. It's means ignoring social standards and being myself. It's encouraging others while staying confident in who I am in God. #wonderfullymadeshe@madewonderfully"

in case it wasn't obvious already, i'm extremely socially awkward, i laugh when people would think it's inappropriate, i forget to have a filter at times and make people uncomfortable with my conversation. i've always been this way and it just seems to get worse as i get older. i'm an introvert at heart, which i am pretty sure is where all of this stems from. i get really uncomfortable around new people so the awkwardness just comes out even more. plus, i'm not good at small talk, which leads to even more awkwardness with me. it's great! but i love being awkward. it's who i am. i learned a long time ago to embrace it, and i just view it now as a great quirk of mine, rather than something that holds me back.

the ignoring social standards is hard to do in america, because they are every where. but i try really hard to ignore what media views as pretty, and focus on what God says is beautiful. my friends had a baby shower sunday, and they asked that instead of cards, we bring a favorite childhood book and a note for baby. well, my favorite childhood book is you are special by max lucado. i knew i had to get it for baby. i tried really hard to think of what type of note do i write to go along with this book, and i couldn't think of anything. the book has a great message about not caring what those around you think, but caring about what your maker thinks of you. even now, as a 24 year old female, i still read that book fairly regularly (like every few months) and remind myself.

encouraging people comes easy to me. i like being able to help people reach their goals, even if it's just a little note of encouragement here and there. i find great joy in it. not because i may get a "thank you" when they reach their goal, but just to see them reach it, and knowing the whole time they were able to. but i still need my own encouragers. my best friend felicia is one of those encouragers. whenever i am down, she is always there to lift me back up. she helps me see myself through God's eyes when i have forgotten how. i know i can go to her for anything and everything, and thankfully she knows she can do the same with me. i have no idea where i would be if she wasn't around to encourage me.

so that is more of what being fearfully and wonderfully made means to me. what does it mean to you?