That's Me!

There is something to be said about the self-esteem of a three year old.

Taylor loves to hear other people say his name. It makes him light up like a Christmas tree. Mind you, these unsuspecting individuals don't even need to be referring to our particular Taylor. As long as those two melodic syllables happen to be said in proper order, he is thrilled beyond recall.

I first started noticing this behavior a couple of months ago.
During a semi-recent Fast Sunday, I decided to bear my testimony and shared a story about Taylor.
Of course, I was teary-eyed and fighting back emotion-- along with the runny nose that inevitable follows.
As soon as I mentioned my little boy's name, a small voice echoed throughout the chapel.

"That's meeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Just as a public service announcement-- runny nose + laughter = a snorting sound that isn't particularly pleasing to the ear. Bear that in mind if you decide to brave the Fast & Testimony microphones.

As it happens, Taylor is a pretty common surname. So our little pride & joy gets to hear his name spoken... a lot. And each time, the reaction is the same. Take last Sunday, when a member of our Church sharing Taylor's appellation was sustained in a new calling. Again the echo came.

"That's meeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

But all joking aside, his sense of self and security in who he is makes me take a hard look at my own self-depreciating behavior.

When does that internal switch happen? When do we change from blissful self-acceptance to negative self-criticism?

I think we could all do with a little dose of unconditional love.
Perhaps the first place we should look is within ourselves.