We got to visit with our four-year-old grandson Theo again the other day. Theo just started preschool and he and his little sister Lilly who is 11 months old came over to eat lunch and play with their older cousins, our granddaughters Avery, who is 15, and Haley who is 13. Those kids love to play together, and it does my heart good to see the four of them enjoying each other’s company and building bonds and friendships that will last forever.

One of the first things Theo did was to tell me about a recent doctor visit he had. Theo proudly reported that he is healthy, and he is now three foot six inches tall. After he shared that same news with his aunt and uncle, he ran off to play with his cousins. My son Eric told me that Theo has been telling every grown up about his doctor visit. Theo is really excited about being three foot six inches tall. My son, who lifts weights in his garage, went on to say that he recently bought a small plastic Playskool dumbbell for Theo. It’s not heavy, it’s made for kids, and best of all it gives Theo an opportunity to “lift weights with Dad.”

Eric said that the other day when they were “working out together,” Theo walked up to his little Playskool dumbbell, took some deep breaths, and said, “I can do this. I can lift this. I am half of 7 feet tall!” Theo then squatted down, grabbed the dumbbell, made a grunting noise, and lifted it over his head and started doing some shoulder presses. Oh, I love that boy. I especially love his positive attitude.

I love the fact that Theo does not see being 3 feet six inches tall as a limitation. It might be a description, but it is not a limitation. Too many times in life, we see some physical characteristic or some other attribute as being something that limits us and holds us back. We don’t rightly esteem and properly value who we are and the potential that lies within us. Every person is fearfully and wonderfully made and created in the image of God. With that in mind, we ought to extend kindness and compassion to everyone. But although sometimes we are good at extending kindness and compassion to others, at the same time, we fail to extend kindness and compassion to ourselves. And when we fail to do that, we fail to tap into the power, the potential, and the promise that God has placed within us.

I said all that to say this, “Do you see yourself as being ONLY three foot six or do you see yourself as being HALF OF SEVEN FOOT TALL?” Do you know that you are fearfully and wonderfully made? How we see ourselves is important. If you don’t see yourself in the right way, you are limiting yourself. And you will be surprised by all that you can do and accomplish, if you simply change your perspective.