We are often our toughest critics. I can say that I’m harder on myself than I am on anyone else. But I can learn (and you can too) to be gentle with myself, like I am with others.

Prayer helps! We can ask God to help us see where we’ve grown, not just what we need to work on. We can ask for help to be kind and tenderhearted with ourselves (Ephesians 4:32) like we are with the people we love. Yes, of course growth is important; truth is just as important, and the truth is that we have made progress. Not perfect, maybe not consistent, but progress. So we can thank God for that progress and pat ourselves on the back (literally!).

This is not a grumbly “Well at least I didn’t_____” that focuses on the negative. And it’s not pretending that we don’t have work to do. But it is learning to see ourselves more completely, more like God does, and being sincerely thankful for even tiny progress.

Photo by Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash.com.