Lyrical heartthrob Justin Bieber once said, er, sang: "If you like the way you look that much, then maybe you should go and love yourself." Right. So... What if you don't like the way you look that much, and you don't really love yourself? Learning how to love yourself is messy. It can be tough to get through. I can remember a time when the idea of standing in front a mirror, even just to brush my teeth- filled me with anxiety and dread. You may be at a point in your life where you feel the same way, so I want to encourage you. Self-love is attainable, and you are capable of loving and being loved. No one ever really stressed to me how important self-love actually is. It affects your relationships with others, the way you present yourself, and so many other aspects of life. Self-love is vital.

Learning to love yourself can be a simple process, or it can be an arduous journey. The very moment you open your heart up, and your eyes up, and begin to see yourself as God created you, everything changes. Nothing is the same. Song of Songs 4:7 (NIV) says, "All beautiful you are, my darling; there is no flaw in you." There is no flaw in you. God, the creator of legends like models Kate Moss, Tyra Banks, Cara Delevigne, Gigi Hadid- he created YOU. Genesis 1:27 states that God created man in his image. There is no flaw in us. When God looks at you, he doesn't see you as you see yourself. When you look in the mirror and think "Not good enough/attractive enough/smart enough," God is thinking, "All beautiful you are. There is no flaw in you."

We are all more than aware of the impossible standards that can be set before us to learn from. It can become tiring, and demeaning. If we give our hearts to God and fall in love with Jesus, our own beauty and importance can be found. It can be found inside us, right where it's been all along. The truth is, we really are mucky, and broken, and selfish- but those are just reminders that we are human. We are allowed to make mistakes, because when our hearts are aligned with God, our mistakes do not define us. What defines us is our love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Those are what define our beauty, and when we parallel our lives to mirror Jesus, we begin to see ourselves as he does- as we truly are. And we can go, and love ourselves.