Have you ever tried to be different because you felt it was the only way to be accepted? The only way to be loved? Have you ever felt as though you had to hide the real you because you could not imagine anyone accepting the real you?  

I can tell you it is a lot of work, and it is exhausting. It is a lot of work always second guessing what others want you to be — and then trying to be that person. The problem is that we ultimately end up losing sight of who it is that we really are. And when we lose sight of who we really are, we risk losing the essence of God in whose image we were created. We risk losing the wonder and the beauty of self. It is sad and incredibly painful.  

I think we all go through this at some point because we want to belong. We long for the total and complete acceptance of who we really are. Yet, at the same time, the very thought of anyone knowing us that completely is enough to scare us. We have an internal dialogue with ourselves about what if we are not good enough, pretty enough, or smart enough, strong enough, masculine enough, liked enough, fast enough, or just enough. Period.  

The idea that we are never enough is pervasive because we live in a world that demands value from us. When we believe our own value is lacking, we are more prone to devalue everyone around us. But how can that be when the psalmist today explains, “I praise you — for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

This is one of the most important statements in the Bible. This statement says you are made by God and God does not make mistakes. In all that you are, you are enough. Just like the electronic billboard said on the corner of 8th Avenue and 8th Street here in Monroe not that long ago — YOU ARE ENOUGH.  

You are enough. I am enough just as I am without apology, without excuse, without regret — because God created me, created YOU to be enough. And no matter what — no matter how many times we doubt our self-worth and question and overthink if we are enough, God knows we are. And God does not let us go.  

That is why I love Psalm 139 so much — God does not let us go. God is always there, bringing us back no matter how many times we try to run away from God. No matter how many times we doubt ourselves or think we are not good enough, God is bringing us back.  

In a world that often tells us we must do more or be more to be enough, the sacred texts whisper a different message: we are enough because we are beloved children of God. May we find peace in this truth, and may it empower us to live fully and freely, secure in the knowledge that we are always seen, always known, always loved, always enough.

— Reflections appears regularly on the religion page. The column features a variety of local writers, coordinated through the Monroe Area Clergy Group. Rev. Christina Schoenwetter is the Associate Pastor of Engagement at St. John’s United Church of Christ in Monroe.