Wednesday, after I had written my last post, I was reading the Ensign (a religious magazine from my church). I try to read it through each month and this day I happened to be on an article titled Look Up. I smiled as I read the quote under the title, telling what the article is about. It said,
A challenge for all of us is not to look sideways to see how others are viewing our lives but to look up to see how Heavenly Father sees us.
Fitting right?
You see, worrying about what others think hasn’t automatically been washed away. I wish I could say that all of the sudden I didn’t care anymore. There have been times, like my example boogie boarding, when I realize what I’m doing and how it is affecting me and I’m able to move on. There are a lot more times that I don’t.
So I was happy to find this article, grateful for the advice it gives. One of my favorite parts is this,
The world we live in today has all kinds of measurements—most of them external to us. I think such measurements can be especially harsh to young adults. You go to school and earn a grade, but that doesn’t necessarily take into account what else you experience in your other classes or your family or your life situation. Sometimes we’re judged by the way we look or by the car we drive. We might base our sense of self-worth on how many friends are writing on our wall on social networking sites. We worry about what others think about the person we’re dating or what people will think if we marry before finishing school. It’s easy to get caught up in trying to please others, but we can’t trust such external measurements; the world can be too quick both to praise and to criticize.
I think the challenge for all of us—but perhaps particularly for young adults—is to try not to look sideways to see how others are viewing our lives but to look up to see how Heavenly Father sees us. He doesn’t look on the outward appearance but on the heart (see 1 Samuel 16:7). And He knows, better than anyone else, what each one of us needs.
That just rings of truth that I needed to hear. Hopefully I can learn to look up for acceptance in the future, rather than side to side.
You can read the full article here.
bubbasbabbles.com 
I love this. I am going to find a way to teach this article to my beehives. This is still hard to be and I am 40. xo
It is a life long battle. The only person’s opinions that truly matter or our Heavenly Father and I try to remember. It is so hard at times when people who mean well try “help”. Thank you for this reminder. I love you!!!
You are doing a great job. You are on the right track. I wish I could say I didn’t do it but I do too. The great thing is that making ourseleves aware of it automatically helps us to work on it. xoxo
E