There are times when life hits us so hard that we feel so inadequate.
We feel so unequipped and we feel like we are anything but enough for the circumstances that we're facing.
Sometimes life hits us so hard that it has us afraid to dream of who we could become.
Merriam-Webster defines enough as to occur in such quantity,
Quality,
Or scope as to fully meet demands,
Needs,
Or expectations.
Some synonyms are abundant,
Ample,
And full.
I used to resent the affirmation,
I am enough,
Because I wanted to be more than enough.
I didn't realize how powerful it was to be enough.
I used to think enough was a way of saying that something was mediocre or barely meeting expectations,
But seeing the definition in the synonyms has shifted my understanding of the word.
It's wholeness,
It's not mediocrity.
Being enough means being whole,
Exactly as I am,
Regardless of my circumstances.
And one of my favorite psalms talks about how enough we are.
It's Psalm 139,
13-16,
And it says,
For you created my innermost being,
You knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was being made in secret,
Intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance.
So we are enough,
Not only on a logical level,
But also a spiritual level.
God saw us before we were even born and considered us worthy of manifesting in the world,
At this time in history.
Being enough is a part of our divine nature.
And when God says that we are intricately woven,
That includes all of our quirks,
All of our neurodivergencies,
All of the things that you would say make you unlovable.
Even the parts of myself I sometimes wish were different.
My quirks,
My sensitivities,
My unique ways of seeing the world,
My dog pursuit for justice.
But all of these things are woven with care.
They are not flaws to be hidden,
But these are part of our tapestry that make us whole.
God didn't just mean that the pretty and convenient parts were enough.
So join me in this affirmation and let's just affirm that we are enough.
And I want to be fully transparent.
And I have faced a lot of trials lately and they have left me doubting my ability to get things done.
I have questioned my intelligence at times and even fell into some unhealthy expectations of my body,
Of how much I can get done in a day.
And these affirmations were born from my journey of bringing myself back from that place of unrealistic expectations,
Of superhuman expectations.
So let's take a moment and breathe in the truth of being enough.
Breathe at a pace that's comfortable for you,
But just make sure that you're breathing deep.
And breathe these affirmations and let each breath carry them deep down into your soul,
Deep down into your heart,
Deep down into your bones.
And let them stick and say them as many times as you need to.
Write them down.
Whatever you need to do to remind yourself that you are beautifully made and that you're supposed to be here.
So either close your eyes for this or if you'd like to.
This is a meditation where I also invite you to go stand in the mirror and look yourself in the eye and just repeat the words that I say.
I am enough when I breathe in.
I am enough when I breathe out.
I say that again,
I am enough when I breathe in and I am enough when I breathe out.
I am enough when my heart beats.
I am enough when I sneeze.
I am enough when my heart beats.
I am enough when I sneeze.
I am enough for my body,
Even when it feels unsafe.
I am enough for my body,
Even when it feels unsafe.
I am enough because God said so.
I am enough because God said so.
God saw me before I was born,
Intricately woven with care.
Every part of me is known and loved.
God saw me before I was born,
Intricately woven with care.
Every part of me is known and loved.
I am enough when I'm in the middle of my scariest storms and when I'm in my most peaceful valley.
I am enough when I am in the middle of one of my scariest storms and I am enough when I am in one of my most peaceful valleys.
I am enough at the end of both hard days and good days.
I am enough at the end of both hard days and good days.
Make sure that you're taking deep breaths in.
Make sure that you're letting these words go deep into your soul,
Deep into your belly.
I am enough when no one around me affirms me and when no one sees things the way I do.
I am enough when no one sees things the way that I do.
I am enough in my anxiety.
I am enough in my anxiety.
I am enough because God saw everything I am and called it good before breathing life into me.
I am enough because God saw everything I am and called it good before breathing life into me.
I am enough in my work.
I am enough when I don't have work.
I am enough when my heart feels broken.
I am enough in my work.
I am enough in my work.
I am enough when I don't have work.
I am enough when my heart feels broken.
I am enough even when panic attacks come.
I am enough even when panic attacks come.
I am enough when friends leave,
When lovers stay,
And when feelings of groundedness escapes me.
I am enough when friends leave,
When lovers stay,
And when feelings of groundedness escape me.
I am enough in the morning.
I am enough at night and at every moment in between.
I am enough in the morning.
I am enough at night and at every moment in between.
I am enough in the beginning,
Through the middle,
All the way to the end.
I am enough from the beginning,
Through the middle,
All the way to the end.
I am enough when I internalize rejection.
I am enough when I internalize rejection.
When I feel alone,
I am enough.
When I feel weary,
I am enough.
When I feel sad,
I am enough.
When I feel confused,
I am enough.
When I feel lost,
I am enough.
When I make a mistake,
I am enough.
When I feel alone,
I am enough.
When I feel weary,
I am enough.
When I feel sad,
I am enough.
When I feel confused,
I am enough.
When I make a mistake,
I am enough.
There is nothing that God can't bring me back from because I am enough.
There is nothing that God can't bring me back from because I am enough.
I am accepting that God put dreams with me,
Knowing I am enough to see them through.
I am accepting that God put dreams within me,
Knowing I am enough to see them through.
Being enough means I am equipped with everything I need,
Here and now,
To become who I'm meant to be.
Being enough means I am equipped with everything I need,
Here and now,
To become who I'm meant to be.
There is no goal,
No dream within my heart that I cannot reach because I am enough.
I want you to fill in the next few affirmations.
Why are you enough?
Speak it out into the atmosphere.
Just fill it in,
Whatever flows out of your heart.
Just fill it in,
Whatever flows out of your heart.
I am enough because.
.
.
Say it again.
I want you to think of one more reason why you are enough today.
Speak it out into the atmosphere.
Say,
I am enough because.
.
.
Very good.
I'm so proud of you.
If you're uncomfortable with prayer,
This would be a great time to end the meditation now.
And I thank you for listening,
And I thank you for your support.
But,
If you want to pray with me,
Let's go.
God,
I thank you for moments like this where you remind us of our great dignity,
Where you remind us of our great purpose,
Of our great power.
There are so many distractions in this world that.
.
.
All for the purpose of distracting us from our purpose,
From our inherent strength,
Our inherent value.
This world would teach us that we have to go and perform,
We have to go and please,
We have to go and start an LLC,
Do this and do that to become worthy of you,
Of your love,
Of the blessings that this world has to offer.
But I pray that you would just speak into our hearts and remind us that we are inherently enough,
That we have been enough since you saw us before anyone else did,
When we were in our mother's womb.
I pray that you protect us.
I pray that you protect the vision that you are putting in our hearts of who we are.
I pray that you continue to expand our worldview,
Our self-concept and may you make it more beautiful,
More aligned with how you see us.
I know in the words of Mandisa,
If we could believe the truth about us,
We would walk this world so differently.
We would walk it so much more boldly.
We would walk it with so much more grace and compassion for ourselves.
If we loved ourselves the way you love us,
May you remind us that we are enough through signs,
Through songs,
Through prayers,
Through friends,
Through whatever you use this week to just keep us in that place of remembrance,
That place of gratitude that we are enough because you said it so,
Because you made us so.
I thank you.
I thank you for us being enough.
I thank you that you are enough.
I thank you.
Amen.
In Jesus name.
Amen.
Thank you for listening and I hope you got what you needed and I hope that you remember that you are enough.
We are in some strange times y'all and we got to remind ourselves,
We got to encourage ourselves and we got to inform ourselves of our worth and our dignity and our right to be here and to be happy while we're here,
To be proud of who we are while we're here because we are enough and we are worthy and we deserve to think that we too are all that back in a bag of chips and an hour later.
All right.
I love y'all.