Do You See A Difference?

The other day, I did a “Spot The Difference” game on my Instagram stories.

It quickly became very apparent that while I thought the difference was huge, the feedback I received was that it was hard. In fact, almost everyone needed a hint to find the difference in the two pictures. ((sorry))

I thought people would easily see the huge chunk of my nail missing.

But, here’s the truth, I’m self-conscious about my hands. Weird right! My hands are small and my fingers are wrinkly in weird places and since I use my nails like tools, they are almost always broken, chipped, short, etc.. In all honesty, I’ve never had beautiful nails… I’ve just always tried to keep them neat and tidy and painted. Now they are in photos and reals and videos, Oh Myyyy!

How interesting it is, the things we sometimes obsess over. We see a fault so we are sure that the world sees it too.

This year, I am determined to show appreciation to the body that has brought me this far. No More Secrets is a blog I wrote and it explains how much my body has endured. The trauma I’ve lived through has left it’s mark on my body. Even with my changed body, I want to look at myself and feel grateful. For example, instead of looking at my nails and seeing broken and chipped nubs, I want to recognize the gift they are to me and my work. I need my nails. As a jewelry designer, they are literal tools and are critical in my day to day work. I want to look at them with a grateful heart instead of disdain.

In the Bible, the book of Mark, chapter twelve, it talks about loving God with all your heart and loving your neighbor as thyself. I’m not a theologian but I’m going to interpret that we are supposed to love God, ourselves, and others. Ugly self talk about others AND ourselves isn’t loving or kind.

This little game really helped open my eyes to just how critical I am of myself. Something I thought would be such a big and obvious fault, was insignificant. To God, it is invisible. God is so gracious and merciful. From my finger tips to the depths of my soul, God loves me. AND!!! He loves you, no matter what!! I hope this encourages someone today. For me, I learned a huge lesson, so thank you for playing.

By the way, the winner is Amber Hasty! She is going to get to pick any earring from my Warm White Winter Collection.

I know I say it all the time, but I really apprentice you playing and teaching my such a valuable lesson this week. Ya’ll are simply the BEST!!!

XOXO

~s