YOU were fashioned with a purpose. Every second of your existence was carefully thought out before hand. YOUR very conception was hand crafted by the most amazing Creator that there will ever be. There was so much thought and attention to detail that went into making YOU. It doesn’t matter how YOU came into this world, or what caused YOUR very existence, all that matters is that YOU weren’t created on accident. YOU weren’t created by mistake. YOU are meant to be the very person that YOU are. End of story.

As little girls, we see no fault in us. We look in the mirror and think we are no doubt a beautiful princess that will one day be swept off our feet by a handsome prince. There is nothing we cannot do, no kingdom we cannot rule, there is no way that we can fail. It doesn’t matter what anyone else says – we know that we have a purpose, and our little hearts are determined to fulfill that very purpose.

Somewhere along the line, we forget about that fairytale princess that was supposed to rule the kingdom. It’s like our once closed eyes, are suddenly opened and we are aware of what everyone is thinking and saying about us. We realize that we are different than the people around us. Now we are suddenly aware that we cannot rule the kingdom, and we suddenly think we may not be the fairest of the land. We no longer feel free to be ourselves, we feel like we have to mold into everyone around us to have a purpose.

Working with children especially, I see this drastic change actually take place. Something happens in the mind of a young girl from about second and third grade, to when they make it into fourth and fifth grade. All of a sudden they suddenly are aware that other people have an opinion about who they are, and they care about that opinion. They go from embracing every ounce of who they are, no matter how goofy or out of place they may seem, to being afraid to even speak the wrong thing. I don’t exactly know what happens in this amount of time that turns our brains on to actually care, but I know that it happens.

I don’t know how it happens, but I do know why it happens. The enemy wants you to forget your worth. If you start to care about what other people think, you forget what God says. You try to be like everyone else, you pretend to be someone you’re not, and you try to find your purpose in the things that people say about you. Darling, you are worth so much more than that.

You don’t have to be someone you’re not. You don’t have to wear the same clothes, you don’t have to like the same things, and you don’t have to walk the same path. People are going to say what they want to say, and people are going to think what they want to think no matter what you do. You will never be able to please everyone. And no matter how hard you try, you will just look silly trying to be anyone but you. You weren’t created to be someone else, that place is already filled. You were created to be you.

Only you can do what God has called you to do, no one else. If you are too busy worrying about being someone else, or worrying about what someone else is going to say or think, you will miss out on the reward of being you. God has big things for you, big plans for you, but He can’t use you when you’re trying to be someone else.

Take a deep breath and close your eyes. Go back to the day where you lived in castles, you rode a white horse, and you wore a beautiful princess dress. Remember how unstoppable you were, remember how focused you were, remember how nothing anyone thought mattered to you. Remember when you were perfectly content just to be you. Stay in that place. Stay in a place where you remember how much you are worth, and how important you are. Don’t stress about being anyone else but you. Don’t let what anyone says or thinks of you matter more than what your King says. Only you can do that for yourself. Only you can make sure you are content being just you.