Encouragement

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I know it’s hard hearing the names they call you—“junkie,” “crackhead,” “drunk.” But that’s nothing compared to the names you call yourself. In fact, it was the names you called yourself that drove you to drink and drugs in the first place.

They were names like “worthless,” “ugly,” “stupid,” “a nobody,” “slut,”…and others too awful for me to repeat. If only you knew how wrong you were and are about yourself.

I know you’re trying hard to kick the habit of drugs and alcohol. You say you want your life back. But until you kick the habit of putting yourself down, you won’t be able to build yourself up.

I know there are many areas in your life where you feel you’ve fallen short, but if you don’t hear anything else I have to say, please hear this: nobody’s perfect, not even the most perfect-seeming people in the world. Everybody has shortcomings. You’re no different, and neither am I.

It’s time to get the names you call yourself into perspective. When you call yourself “worthless,” ask yourself this question: “I’m worthless compared to whom?” God loves us all equally, so how can you be worth less than anyone else?

When you call yourself “stupid,” ask yourself this question: “I’m stupid compared to whom?” Sure there are things you don’t know, but guess what—you know things that others don’t know.

Here’s what I’m saying: For every negative name you call yourself, there’s a positive reason why it’s not true. The greatest reason is because God loves you. He always has, and he always will.

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Excerpted from Cynthia Legette Davis new book, "I Know How You Feel," available at www.booksurge.com.

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