Right around seventh grade is when the voice of “you’re not good enough” began to whisper in my ear.  It came through comments and snickers of fellow classmates and sometimes even people I considered friends. Comments like, “she’s ugly,” “her nose is too big,” and “she dresses funny” began to tarnish what I thought about myself. The voice was persistent enough that I began to believe what other people thought about me, and gave into the pressure of wanting to be liked at any cost.

We’ve all heard these responses before: “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” or “don’t cry over spilled milk” — yea, because normal people cry over things like that. Without much thought, we anticipate that the response (when we share our struggles) will be “it’ll get better,” “pray about it,” or “God’s going to work it out." But sometimes words just aren’t enough when you’re feeling discouraged or down!

Hey friend, I know that things are hard right now. You feel lost and directionless. You feel lonely and unwanted. You project a strong, organized exterior, showing everyone how you have it all together, but when you take down those walls at night, you feel heavy and sad. 

And it's left a gaping hole inside of you. You've convinced yourself that as soon as that hole is filled, you'll be invincible; no one and no thing will be able to break you. But nothing can break you now, either, because you already feel broken. 

Erin Weidemann, creator and author of Bible Belles, is a five-time cancer survivor and a total warrior for Christ. The heavily popular book series she created is everything your 5 year old self would adore, as it highlights women in the Bible who were strong, confident, and inwardly beautiful in the eyes of Christ. Erin does a fabulous job of narrating the stories to present the women (Hannah, Esther, Abigail, Ruth, Deborah) as the perfect role models, which is ironic because Erin is one of OUR role models!