i studied psychology as my second major in university purely out of fascination. it’s been years since i sat through those lectures, but there are plenty of concepts that remain with me, particularly when it comes to developmental psych.
for example, the wording you choose when speaking to an impressionable person can be so incredibly influential to their development. raising a child while explaining that their success is a result of their natural intelligence versus explaining their success to be a result of their hard work can make a huge difference in their self-perception, ultimately influencing their work ethic and self-image for the remainder of their lives. self-fulfilling prophecy and whatnot. yeah.
i’m well past that key childhood developmental stage, but during this process of picking up broken pieces to become whole again, i have been absorbing a whole lot. many people have been telling me, “you’re too good for ____” – fill in the blank: them, him, this, that, etc.
each time, i shook my head and laughed it off. what have i done to deserve anything? but whenever i ask myself this question, there’s a followup thought that blows my mind – i deserve nothing, yet somehow, by Your grace, i have been given everything.
at some point, my own thought derived from this initial phrase i had been hearing, and i was pleasantly reminded:
i’m too loved by You to be stuck in this place.
Jesus, i’m sorry for allowing myself to wallow in this sorrow and doubt Your love for me. to be loved by You ultimately means i have been freed from this weight… i don’t need to hold onto this anymore.
surely, i’ll need tens, if not hundreds of reminders a day, but i know this to be true:
i am too loved by You.