I'm 25 and I'm Tired of Apologizing

I'm 25 and I'm tired of apologizing.

I'm tired of apologizing for laughing loudly. I'm tired of apologizing for my inquisitive mind-- which by definition, asks a lot of questions. I'm tired of apologizing for being bold in my opinions. I'm tired of apologizing for people's perception of me (whether it be understandable, but especially if it is unfounded). I'm tired of apologizing for my calling. I'm tired of apologizing for the fact that I'm not in a relationship. I'm tired of apologizing for not wanting to play second fiddle to anyone besides God in my life.

Baby, I was born to shine.

This is not out of arrogance or a false sense of how awesome I am but rather it's the culmination of a decision to not be self-deprecating anymore. I am committing to not apologizing for myself any longer.

Am I imperfect? Obviously. Do I make mistakes? Yes (and for those, I will apologize). But I am so many more parts of wonderful than I am terrible. God is in the process of redeeming
all things in my personality but in the meantime, God's power is *perfected* in my weakness.

I don't fit into some people's boxes of who/how I should be but THAT'S OKAY. It's taken a long time (25 1/2 years to be exact), but I can finally say, "I love me." All of me. Even the imperfect, unpolished parts of me.

I'm awesome. God said it. I believe it and that's the end of it.

If you don't think of yourself as awesome as God thinks of you, you should really get on that. Did you know that He celebrates our strengths rather than focusing on our weaknesses (because He picks up the slack on those anyway)? I didn't know that until recently! 

Don't waste your time thinking of what your reputation is or what people murmur behind your back (or even what they are bold enough to say to your face!). Leave that up to God because that's His job. Be obedient to the call He has on your life and get ready for the adventure of a lifetime!

Much love to you and our (awesome) selves!