To Love Myself

I think one of the most important things to remember as we move forward from our life experiences and choices that have caused us pain, is that all of these experiences whether good or bad, can be learned from. Life is for learning. My childhood home situation was less than ideal.. My opinion of myself was low. I knew I was a daughter of God, but I didn't value myself. That lack of self esteem was furthered by rejection and belittlement in my failed marriage. Since then I have come to understand some important things. It's so much more than just saying I am a daughter of God.
My life experiences have been learning experiences. As each difficult situation was faced, I learned and grew from that experience. I can look back and actually say that I'm glad I had those experiences because of how they have affected who I am today. It wasn't easy, and there were times I wanted to give up. But, I didn't. I kept going, putting one foot in front of the other and trusting that Heavenly Father knew me and was in charge. I will not allow Satan to influence my thoughts about myself. I am a powerful spirit being and I will not let disparaging thoughts about myself have center stage.
In order to allow the love of my Heavenly Father and Savior into my life, I had to believe that I deserved it. During quiet moments on my knees in supplication to my loving Father in Heaven I felt the beautiful reassurance that I do deserve it. He has reassured me many times as I have faced difficulties and received a priesthood blessing. Through the gentle whisperings of the Holy Ghost, I have been reminded of how much they love me. The adversary's loud clamoring doesn't hold a candle to the 'still small voice'.
The gift of agency is a wonderful gift. It was known ahead of time, that we would sometimes make bad choices. The important thing is; learn from the choices. In examining the situation, we can learn valuable information about ourselves. We can use that information to make the decision as to what we will do when faced with those choices again. If we truly learn from our experiences, our lives can be enriched as we realize we are following the Plan. This opportunity to experience, choose, learn, and grow are evidence to me of a loving Heavenly Father. He didn't send us here to earth to fail. He knows we are all capable of success in this earthly experience. He lovingly gave us guidance (through the scriptures, and our prophets), and the gift of the Holy Ghost. I know He loves me. I know my Savior loves me. I am able to feel that love on a daily basis, and because of that, I know I am lovable. And who am I, to turn my back on that and not love myself?