For my family August was a hard month as we dealt with my father in laws passing and being the month my mom passed away as well. There is something I think we forget sometimes.

We spend so much of our lives taking care of everyone else that we forget we are supposed to take care of ourselves, too. I did that and this month I want to make time for myself.

I love my family and I worry about our children. I like to make sure everyone has what they need. Sometimes I cook the meals, and wash the clothes, run the errands, answer the questions, solve the problems, and somehow keep going even when I’m tired.

And somewhere along the way, I can forget about the person doing all of those things. Myself. That is why I want September to be a reminder to live and love myself and I want you to learn to love yourself.

Not in a selfish way. Not in a “me first, everyone else later” kind of way. But in a way that says, I matter, too. God didn’t create us to spend our entire lives trying to become someone else.

He created us exactly as we are, with our own personalities, gifts, stories, imperfections, dreams, and purposes. We don’t have to look like someone else. We don’t have to live someone else’s life. We don’t have to keep comparing our chapter to somebody else’s highlight reel. We just need to live the life God has given us.

And sometimes that means making room for ourselves again. Maybe it’s reading a book simply because we want to. Maybe it’s sitting outside with a cup of coffee. Maybe it’s taking a walk.

Maybe it’s putting on the shirt we love instead of saving it for “a special occasion.” Maybe it’s laughing when something is funny instead of worrying about what somebody else thinks. Maybe it’s finally doing something we’ve been putting off because we’ve spent years saying, “I’ll do that someday.”

Someday is not promised. Trust me I learned that the hard way when Suzzane passed away. Today is here. So live it. Love yourself enough to take care of yourself. Love yourself enough to rest when you’re tired.

Love yourself enough to say no when something isn’t good for you. Love yourself enough to stop beating yourself up over mistakes you cannot change. Love yourself enough to recognize how far you’ve already come.

And perhaps most importantly, love yourself enough to remember that your worth isn’t determined by how much you accomplish in a day. You are valuable even on the days when the laundry isn’t finished.

You are valuable when dinner comes from a crockpot. You are valuable when the house isn’t perfectly clean. You are valuable when your plans don’t work out. You are valuable when you need to start over. You are valuable simply because you are you.

September is giving us a chance to regroup, refocus, and rebuild. Maybe part of that rebuilding needs to be rebuilding our relationship with ourselves. Maybe we’ve been too hard on ourselves.

Maybe we’ve forgotten to celebrate the little victories. Maybe we’ve spent so much time looking at what still needs to be done that we’ve forgotten to look at everything we’ve already accomplished.

So this month, let’s try something different. Let’s live a little more. Let’s laugh a little more. Let’s notice the good things. Let’s make memories. Let’s read the book. Let’s take the picture. Let’s eat the dessert. Let’s call the friend.

Let’s enjoy the ordinary Tuesday that might someday become one of our favorite memories. And let’s stop waiting for life to become perfect before we allow ourselves to enjoy it.

Because life isn’t perfect. Families aren’t perfect. Homes aren’t perfect. Plans aren’t perfect. And neither are we. But there is still so much beauty in an imperfect life. Trust me on that Buttercup.

So this September, I’m reminding myself—and maybe you need the reminder, too: Live your life. Love yourself. Give yourself grace. Be grateful for where you are while you’re working toward where you’re going. And don’t forget to thank God for the person He created you to be.

You don’t have to become somebody else to be worthy of love. You just have to learn to see yourself the way God sees you. And maybe that’s the perfect place to begin this new month.