Devotionals

Embracing Your Uniqueness

Do you ever have trouble embracing your uniqueness?  Do you ever feel less-than or left out?  This is for you today.

Princesses and Tomboys: Embracing Your Uniqueness

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13).

Mom’s Thoughts on Embracing Your Uniqueness:

When I was younger, our school put on a rendition of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  Much to my dismay, I was given the role of one of the seven dwarfs: Grumpy!

As much as I would have loved to play Snow White, I knew I wasn’t a good fit for the role.  I was a tomboy.  At the time, I had short hair that made me look more like a boy than a beautiful princess.  For the most part, I embraced my boyish appearance; however, deep within me, I wished I looked more like a princess.

The year I played Grumpy in the class play, I remember feeling like I wasn’t very pretty.  I looked at my friend who was playing Snow White, and I wished I had her hair, her voice, and her beautiful cheekbones.  Compared to Snow White, I felt like something inside of me was lacking.

In response to these feelings, I decided to build my identity around being sporty and boyish because I was good at being sporty and boyish.

Like me, you might look around at other girls and wish you had different hair, different talents, or fancier clothes.  You might love painting your nails and dressing up, or you might prefer muddy boots and baseball caps.  Either way, God made you beautiful, talented, and one-of-a-kind.  There’s no one else just like you, and God wants you to embrace the way he made you.

You are free to dress like a princess or a tomboy, but don’t choose the way you will look based on feeling less-than or comparing yourself to others.  Do what you love.  Embrace the way God made you.  You are free to be yourself, and when you are yourself, you bring a wonderful and unique gift to the world!

Bekah’s Thoughts (Girl to Girl):

What’s unique about you?  I’m unique in many ways, and I feel special; however, sometimes I feel the need to hide my uniqueness in order to fit in.  For example, I like to go hunting. Very few girls in my school hunt.  Sometimes, I feel like I need to be just like everybody else in order to be cool, but that isn’t true.  We should each embrace our differences and be proud of them.

At times, believing in God might make you feel different from others.  Sometime in your life, someone might make you feel uncool because of your faith, but don’t let it get to you.  Be proud of your faith, and be proud of your uniqueness.  Own it.  People will look up to you for that.

Talk About It:

  • Name three characteristics you like about yourself.
  • Is there anything about you that you would like to change? Why do you want to change this part of you?
  • God made you the way you are for a reason. In what ways might you use your most unique talents and interests to bless others?

Pray Together:

Lord Jesus, we thank you for loving us just the way we are.  Thank you that you don’t make mistakes and that you have plans and purposes for our lives.  Help us trust you as we embrace the parts of ourselves that make us feel different from others.  Show us how to use these traits and interests to bless others.  Amen.

A Free Online Mother-Daughter Devotional Book to Help You Embrace Your Uniqueness:

We adapted this post from our free mother-daughter online devotional The Girl to Girl 7-Day Devotional: A Mother-Daughter Devotional for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith.  This free online devotional includes seven short devotions to help moms and daughters connect with each other while drawing close to God.  Get your free copy right here!

Find Our New Mother-Daughter Devotional on Amazon Right Here:

Do you want to open the lines of communication with your daughter, connect on deeper levels, laugh together, and grow in your faith together?  Maybe you don’t have a daughter, but you would love to connect with a granddaughter, niece, or younger woman in your life.  Perhaps you would love to support a mother-daughter duo you care about.

If any of this resonates with you, I have a tool to help you.  My 12-year-old daughter Bekah and I wrote a mother-daughter devotional book together, and it is designed to help moms and daughters connect and grow in faith together.  It’s called Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith.  It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, commentaries from both of us, conversation starters, and even a journaling section.  We had a blast writing it, and we are so excited to share it with you.  You can buy your paperback or eBook on Amazon right here.  This book also makes a powerful gift for the mothers and daughters you care about!  We encourage you to check it out!

Bekah and Stacey Pardoe are pre-teen daughter & mother coauthors committed to helping women of all ages grow in their faith. When they're not writing, you can find them hiking, camping, jogging, and exploring wild places across Pennsylvania's forested hills!