We live in a time where personal identity, self-worth, and belonging feel more uncertain than ever. Many people struggle with questions about who they are and whether they are enough just as they are. As Christians, we believe that God has already given us those answers—He created each of us with purpose, intention, and love.

But how do we stand firm in what God says while still showing love and compassion to those who see the world differently?

How do we hold to the truth that God made us exactly who we are for a reason, yet still reflect His kindness and grace?

No one is immune to struggles with self-worth.

Everyone wrestles with who they are and the bodies they were given. 

We tell ourselves that if we were just skinny enough, smart enough, pretty enough, curvy enough, strong enough, then we would feel whole.

I know this feeling well.

As someone who was sexually abused and groomed as a little girl, I learned to hate my body from a young age. I despised the attention it brought me. I went through a tomboy phase, where I tried to hide my body and my looks, hoping that if I disappeared enough, I wouldn’t be seen or hurt. Should my parents have let me transition to a boy? No, I was in deep pain and as a child, that was my way of showing it.

Later in life, infertility and medical issues made me hate my body even more.

My own body had betrayed me. It made me feel horrible about myself and my worth—like I was broken, defective, or not enough as a woman.

I understand why people feel like changing themselves will bring peace.

I’ve been there.

But instead of caving to those feelings and changing who I was, I started healing the parts of me that felt that way.

I stopped running from my pain and started facing it.

Why did I feel like I wasn’t enough?

Why did I believe that my body was a mistake? 

I had to let God speak into those wounds instead of letting the world define me.

We all struggle with identity, but what happens when children struggle with these things? 

Instead of adults—people they trust—telling them, “You are enough, you are beautiful, you are perfectly made,” they tell them:

• You can change.

• You can take hormone blockers.

• You can have surgery.

• You can erase the parts of you that feel wrong.

  
  

This doesn’t help them heal—it further validates the mental health crisis they are already experiencing.

Instead of guiding them through their struggles, society is offering them permanent solutions to temporary pain.

There have been countless stories of people who de-transition as adults because they were encouraged to make these drastic changes as kids. Many now speak about the irreversible damage done to their bodies and their minds—how they were too young to understand what they were agreeing to, how their pain was only deepened, and how they were led to believe that changing themselves would bring peace.

But peace never comes from changing who we are—it comes from understanding who we were made to be.

A child struggling with their identity doesn’t need surgeries or hormones.

They need:

• Loving guidance.

• Healing from past pain.

• To know they were created with purpose.

• To hear that they are enough exactly as they are.

  
  

No child should be encouraged to permanently alter themselves in response to temporary confusion.

Children need truth, love, and protection—not irreversible medical interventions that many regret later in life.

The world tells us that our identity is something we define for ourselves. That if we don’t feel "right" in our own skin, we should change to become something else.

But God does not make mistakes.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made." – Psalm 139:13-14

"Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you." – Jeremiah 1:5

These verses remind us that each of us is intentionally created by God. He didn’t randomly assign our bodies or make errors in His design.

Every detail—our gender, our gifts, our personalities—was given to us on purpose.

The enemy wants us to believe that we are not enough, that we need to change ourselves to find happiness. But those are lies.

The truth is:

• We are already enough because God made us.

• We are already loved because Jesus died for us.

• We are already valuable because we are His.

  
  

If you’re reading this and you don’t believe in God, I understand that some of this may not make sense.

You may wonder: Why does it matter what the Bible says?

Here’s what I would say: Even if you don’t believe in Jesus, I hope you can take a moment to think about this—What if you are already enough as you are?

What if you don’t have to chase change to be whole?

So many people are looking for peace. They believe they’ll find it in success, relationships, self-improvement, or even changing their identity. But if we’re honest, those things don’t last.

• We change our looks, but still feel insecure.

• We chase affirmation, but still feel empty.

• We try to "fix" ourselves, but still feel lost.

  
  

What if you didn’t have to fix yourself at all?

What if you are already loved, already valuable, already enough—because you were created with intention?

Even if you don’t follow Jesus, I challenge you to ask yourself: Where does my worth really come from? 

Because deep down, we all long for the same thing—to be seen, known, and loved.

It is possible to stand firm in biblical truth while still loving others well. We do not have to choose between truth or love—we are called to both.

• We believe God made each of us with intention and purpose.

• We believe changing ourselves will never bring lasting peace—only Christ can do that.

• We believe in showing love and compassion, even to those who disagree with us.

  
  

If you are struggling with identity, self-worth, or mental health, know this: You are not alone.

God sees you, He loves you, and He has a purpose for you that is far greater than what the world offers.

If you are a parent, teacher, or mentor, know this: The words you speak over children matter.

Speak truth.

Speak life.

Speak love. 

Show them that they are enough—not because the world says so, but because God says so.

Let’s be a people who reflect Christ—not only in what we believe, but in how we live, speak, and love. May we stand firm in God’s Word while extending the same grace that Jesus has given us.

Because at the end of the day, everyone is searching for love and belonging—and only Jesus offers both in full.