Over the last couple of years, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Monica Debro through a Mastermind group for coaches that we’re members of.  She has a doctorate in Nursing. Every week, I get to see the compassion she has for others. She has a group that ministers to women on Facebook  called “Love Yourself to Life”. I believe one of the most influential things she does is to speak out on domestic abuse.

All of these factors are key in how she views life–that it should always be lived through the lens of God’s love. It’s an honor to have her share her wisdom here.

I remember being in high school and not liking myself, let alone loving myself. As a teenager I wanted to fit in and be liked by others. Developing friendships was important to me because I thought it would bring value to my teenage life and help me to like myself even more. Well, I graduated high school, still not liking myself much and my actions definitely didn’t show love for self.

Fast forward to my adult years, I’d learned to like myself and if I can be honest, it was mostly because of my accomplishment of becoming a nurse. Little did I know that I still hadn’t learned to love myself. It wasn’t even a thought of consideration and definitely didn’t take up space in my heart’s desires. How could it? There was no thought of loving myself and embracing the second half of the scripture ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Mark 12:31 NIV. It was easy to love my neighbor and doing for others. However, the “as yourself” part took years to become activated in my life.

My Journey of Love and Self-Discovery

For me to emerge from darkness into His light, I had to make necessary, specific, dedicated, and realistic actions daily.

• Submerging myself in God’s Word
• Spending quality quiet time with God
• Writing scriptures on index cards and reading them daily.
  • This especially helped during moments when Satan was badgering my thoughts.
  • I keep handwritten index scripture cards by my bed to read every night.
• Reading daily devotionals and affirmations out loud over myself every day
  • Remember, the devil flees at the name of Jesus, so we must speak His name and His Word for Satan to flee.
• Praise and Worship music
• Paying attention to my environment, what I listen to and the conversations that I have with others.
• There were days that I shut off television and social media because I needed to focus on my healing.

Loving myself has been a journey of pain, forgiveness, healing, and restoration. It also involved remembering unhappy times that I’d suppressed deep in my memory. Why was this necessary? God had to uproot what was holding me hostage and not allowing me to see myself as the woman He created me to be. He needed to awaken my inner being to understand the value in loving myself unconditionally. I couldn’t be bound to past sins that had unknowingly been preventing me from embracing Romans 5:8 and God’s unending love for me.

Scriptures for Loving Yourself

God took me on a journey of self-discovery and healing. Through His Word, I discovered who I am in Him and what I can have through Him. Guess what? So can you!  Are you ready to go on a short, not all-inclusive journey of self-discovery? Trust me, there is much more to who God says we are than what I’ve listed below for us.

• Fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:4)
• More than a conquer (Romans 8:37)
• Forgiven (Colossians 3:13)
• Saved through faith (Ephesians 2:8)
• Have power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7)
• I have perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3)
• A light of the world (Matthew 5:14)
• I AM A Proverbs 31 Woman!

God’s unending love helps me to believe His Word. It helps me to embrace Proverbs 31 even when I go astray from the characteristics of this woman. Reality check! We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). So, do I miss the mark sometimes? Absolutely. And if you’re truthful with yourself, you do too. But as the open scripture says, “While we were still sinners, Christ dies for us.” He knew that we would need saving. He knew that a demonstrating of his unending love by sending His Son Jesus would help us to learn to embrace self-love and truly, authentically love who He created us to be.

An Action Plan for Loving Yourself

• Quiet yourself and your environment for a few minutes. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Calm your thoughts before we shift to the action plan.
• Identify where you are struggling to embrace God’s love and desires for your life?
• What is the root cause of the difficulty in believing who God says that you are and what you can do/be?
• Is there someone you need to forgive, or do you need to forgive yourself in order to love yourself because of God’s unending love for you?
• Take some time to reflect on these questions. Then write out your best realistic action plan to begin healing in whatever areas is holding you bound. Why? Because You Are WORTH IT!

Along your journey of self-discovery, remember that you are worthy of love and forgiveness. Remember to forgive yourself in the process because God forgave you a long time ago.

Dr. Monica Debro, DNP, MSN, RN

Dr. Monica Debro, owner of Love Yourself to Life™, is a leader who is transforming the lives of women through inspirational writings, events, and speaking engagements. She is the host and keynote speaker for The Elephant in the Room and the Love Yourself to Life™ conferences. Dr. Debro also hosts the Always Wear Your Tiara™ event in which women have received intimate breakthroughs in their personal and professional lives.

As a practicing Nurse Educator and Life Coach, Dr. Debro engages in life-changing conversations and action plans to help women embrace the essence of who they are and not allow the past to interfere with their future.  Being transparent allows her to be influential in helping others identify current concerns and develop specific and realistic action steps to heal from their past and reach their goals.

Dr. Debro is a member of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and has been a guest speaker at several domestic violence and community violence awareness conferences. She is the author of Broken Believer No More and Love Yourself to Life. Broken Believer No More has received recognition at the Los Angeles and New York book festivals. Dr. Debro is also a co-author in Grace to Recover: How to Divorce Hurt, Addiction, and OVERCOME Trials with the Power of a Loving God.