Although we are still dealing with snow in the mountains, my calendar says the first day of Spring is March 20th. While we desperately need the rain and snow, I am turning my focus to thoughts of bouquets, especially God’s bouquets. This is a piece I wrote in my first book. I pray it helps you like it did me.
Years ago, I had a terrible time accepting the good things people said to me. My self-image was so damaged, I would have had to climb a ladder to look an ant in the eyeball. (I think ants have eyeballs, don’t they?)
Then I heard my ol’ pastor say, “Compliments are bouquets thrown from the hand of God. When we don’t take the compliments given to us, it’s as though we are ripping the heads off the flowers God has given us, throwing them to the ground, and trampling them underfoot.”
“Wow! Refusing a Word that God had for me was the last thing I wanted to be guilty of.
He went on to explain, “Compliments are God’s way of telling us who we are. When we receive them, it builds our confidence in the qualities and gifts He’s given us. But when we don’t, we remain static and self-critical. So instead of looking away from the person who is complimenting you, look them in the eye,” he encouraged and offer up a sincere “Thank you.’” See yourself drinking in the fragrance of each flower and letting the aroma of the affirmation permeate your very soul.”
“Think about it,” he offered in his classic southern wisdom. “Even if the person is just trying to flatter you, there has to be some truth in the compliment. They can’t say you’re pretty if you’re as ugly as a mud fence. And they can’t say you’re smart if you are dumber than a box of rocks.” (I can still hear that last line with a deep southern drawl.)
I took his words to heart and stopped dismissing compliments some forty years ago and it changed my life. In that time God has had the opportunity to remake my self-esteem. Can I encourage you to receive God’s compliments? Now I even tell the clients in my counseling office to set aside 20 pages in a journal and to start recording every compliment they receive. Write the date, the compliment, and who said it. Then read them regularly. Give it a try and see if doesn’t make a difference in how you see yourself as you seek to see yourself from the Lord’s perspective.
(From Healing the Hurts That Are Holding You Back.)