The Help - Some Good Self-Talk

     It's a rainy day here in "A Friendly Shade."  Just the perfect day for getting out of my Sunday clothes and into a soft pair of lounging knits and t-shirt and then sticking a good movie into the VCR.  My first thoughts were a popular bestseller which I have previously watched but certainly didn't mind repeating, The Help. 

     On my second viewing of The Help, what grabbed my attention was not so much what the blacks had to endure years ago but  motivation and self-talk.   Abileen was the black maid who  cared daily for a white child who seemingly was neglected by her up-to-do mother.  Abileen is constantly giving the child an example of some good solid self-talk.  She lovingly encourages  the child by saying,  "You is beautiful.  You is smart.  You is important."
     Do you think that sometimes we fail to accomplish the things we want to do simply because we feel inferior?  Do we avoid making friendships because we feel inferior? 
     Whether we are black, white, or some other nationality, we need to remember that God loves us all.  Some of us are not in high paying positions.  Some of us do not have the nicest homes or wear the nicest clothes.  Some of us did not have the nicest up-bringing.  Some of us have past problems in our lives which we let hold us back.  We forget that they are "in the past."   Maybe, just maybe, it is time to let them go and give ourselves some good old self-talk.  "We are good.  We are loved.  We are important." 
     This is not to say that we should blame our situation on others and carry a chip on our shoulder,  but rather, make a choice to improve.  Develop self-esteem with some daily, good self-talk.   
     As Christians, we know that God ransomed all His people with His blood.  He does not select any one group of people no matter their position in life.  He created each and every one of us, and we are all loved by Him.  We are all important to God!  God does not hold our past sins against us once we have asked for forgiveness.  He does not hold us back because we were born "red, yellow, black, or white." 
     "Shut the front door!"  is a slang sentence some like to say when they hear some shocking, unexpected news.  I think I will change it a little and exclaim, "Shut the back door!"  Yes,  close the back door to all those things in the past that hold us back and open the front door to new experiences and new friendships. It is up to us to open the door of opportunity and forget the past expereniences of where we came from, what was done to us or our family, what sins we have committed and move on to the greener pastures of life.  Be brave, be strong, and trust the Lord that loves us.     
     As Abileen said in The Help, "You is beautiful.  You is smart.  You is important."

 Revelations 5:9  "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God and from every tribe and language and people and nation."