I am almost at the halfway point in my second pregnancy. On Monday, I am going to have my 20-week ultrasound scan. That means, I will visit our local women’s hospital where a sonographer will scan my belly and check that my baby is healthy and happy, inside of my womb.

During the scan, the sonographer might be able to reveal the gender of my unborn child.

For various reasons, I’ve been trying to work out whether I want to find out the gender, or leave it as a surprise, until my baby’s birth.

The thought of knowing more about my baby makes me excited – who is this wonderful child inside my womb?

But, here is the thing – before I know whether this baby is male or female, before I discover whether my unborn child has blonde hair or brown, and even before I hear their sweet, raspy cry – I can confidently say I absolutely adore this little life inside of me.

In my human eyes, my child is not more valuable to me, whether male or female.

In my eyes, my baby is not worthy of more love if he or she has blonde curls or brown locks.

In these eyes, my little treasure is so valuable to me, despite the fact they haven’t said a single word.

My human perspective knows that this unborn child is precious and worth so much, before they are even born.

How much more am I worth to God?

I strive for perfection, approval and worth on a daily basis… yet my worth was decided the second he created me.

In the bible, King David speaks to God and says:

“You formed my innermost being, shaping my delicate inside

and my intricate outside,

and wove them all together in my mother’s womb.

I thank you, God, for making me so mysteriously complex!

Everything you do is marvelously breathtaking.

It simply amazes me to think about it!

How thoroughly you know me, Lord!

You even formed every bone in my body

when you created me in the secret place,

carefully, skillfully shaping me

from nothing to something.”

Psalm 139: 13- 15, TPT.

I am valuable to God. I am worth making carefully and intricately. I am “something” created from “nothing”!

My worth in God’s eyes doesn’t alter. There is nothing that I can do to gain or lose this worth that He bestowed on me, when He created me.

But I act like there’s all to play for. I act like I will one day, someday, be something.

And, I guess I am writing today because I want to let you know that you are worthy.

You are worthy.

You may feel like you are not worthwhile. But the moment you were created, God decided your worth. And if you’ve done horrible things in your life, that doesn’t change your worth.

In fact, Jesus decided that you were worth dying for, on a cross:

But He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53: 5-6, NIV.

There is nothing that you have done that He hasn’t forgiven. Nothing that you have said that hinders your worth in God’s eyes.

Recently, though, I’ve been very confused about my worth.

I have found myself in a pickle.

Comparing my personality to others, thinking others are better than me.

Comparing my decisions to others, thinking others are better than me.

Maybe you think a certain “type” of person is worthy of love. That only loud, confident women are likeable. That only those who bury their heads in bible studies and go to church are worth God’s time…

Maybe you think that only people who look and eat a certain way are pleasing. Perhaps you’ve considered that you are “too quiet,” “too emotional,” or “too fat.”

I probably don’t need to remind you that these are lies.

But I want to remind you of the truth – you are a marvelously breathtaking work of God’s creation. A wonderfully made human being, worth dying for. You are amazing, just as you are. Whatever you look like, right now. Make up off, pajamas on, not washed in days – you are still gorgeous and precious in God’s eyes.

My unborn baby looks like a little alien right now, wrapped up in a ball of amniotic fluid. But, I guarantee you I will shed a tear when I see that precious little blob on Monday’s ultrasound. I can already tell you that he or she will look stunning in that scan photo!

How much more are you worth to God?

I want to end with a challenge. This morning, I woke up and started looking through a folder of work that I had done, years ago.

In the folder, I found a personality assessment. It spoke of my personality type:

Radiating warmth and energy, you look for the best in others and prize harmony and co-operation. You are warm, compassionate and supportive, loyal and trustworthy. You see meanings and connections and can be very insightful about others. You care curious about new ideas and stimulated by possibilities for contributing to the good of humanity. You are likely to be imaginative and creative, like variety and new challenged. You naturally see potential for growth in others and devote energy to help others achieve it. You are a sensitive facilitator.

(Official ‘Myers Briggs’ test, ENFJ personality type – my abbreviation.)

When I read the above, it became really apparent to me that I don’t speak kind, affirming words to myself. I don’t see myself as warm and energetic. In fact, I often I pull my personality type down, giving others higher praise.

Maybe you are the same?

My challenge to you is this:

• Print Psalm 139 out and stick it somewhere that you will see it and read it daily.
• Either do a personality test, like Myers Briggs, or ask a friend to send you a list of things they like about you. Read those affirming evaluations out loud. Repeat every day this week!

I just want you to take one small step to acknowledge your unique wonderfulness!

After reading my personality test results, I said sorry to God for believing too many lies about myself. For believing that I was worthless, even though He made me worthy.

But listen – He forgives me. He forgives you, too.

And He is ready to tell you who you really are. Ready to remind you that your personality, your features and your beauty were all created by Him. The God who doesn’t make mistakes.

So, from one recovering self-critic to another, please know that the gushing adoration I feel for my unborn child is tiny in comparison to the way God loves you.

And just as I am excited to discover more about my second child, God is excited for you to discover all the unique facets of your personality.

Please, go ahead – set out on a journey this week to find out what you are worth, in God’s eyes. Delight in where it leads.