Today, I volunteer at the 5th grade Colonial Crafts and Tea Party. In between helping children select a tea bag and examining the handmade candles, I notice all the signs put up around the classroom and in the hallway. One sign in particular really makes me think. It says, simply:
Respect Yourself.
I suddenly recall the day I met a teenager who told me she’d never do drugs, sleep around, or harm herself. “I respect myself too much. I just want to tell my friends to stop doing stupid things to themselves. You have to respect yourself!”
I ask my daughter what she thinks the sign means, and she says, “To care for yourself and to not think bad thoughts about yourself or say bad things about yourself.”
I remember the simple command in scripture to love your neighbor as yourself. Do I care for myself and think kind things about myself? I wasn’t expecting to see a sign asking me to respect myself today.
I think if I really respected myself, I’d change some things about what I eat and what I do.
___________________________
When did you start respecting yourself?
One Response
One of the questions my counselor has me ask myself when I'm trying to make a decision is “what is most respectful of me?” It was a very heard question to figure out the answer to because it wasn't terms I thought in…I've learned to however most of the time and I'm better for it. I wish I had learned as a child to respect myself…I'm glad your daughter and her school mates are learning it.