We... are being transformed into His likeness.
A man who was feeling depressed went to see a psychiatrist. After sharing his problems he expected some profound words of wisdom that would make him feel better. "Well," the psychiatrist exclaimed, "I've diagnosed your problem. It's low self-esteem - and it's very common among losers!" When you view yourself negatively you tend to gravitate toward people who talk down to you. But when you know that God loves you and "plans… to give you a future and a hope" (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT), your entire outlook changes. With God you can't lose. Even if you stumble and fall He'll help you to get back up, learn from the experience and move on. When you look at yourself you tend to see somebody who makes mistakes and falls short, right? But when you begin to look at yourself in the mirror of God's Word, you see someone "being transformed into His likeness" (2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV).
Ever gone to a garage sale or an antique show looking for a bargain? To the untrained eye much of the stuff looks like rubbish; it may even have been gathering dust and mildew in somebody's attic. But the experienced eye sees treasure in disguise, items that just need to be cleaned, polished and restored in order to become valuable again.
Well, God's the expert with a trained eye. When the enemy tells you you're worthless, God looks inside you and sees hidden treasure. When you put Him on the throne of your life He'll enable you to overcome your past, resist temptation, break through your self-imposed limitations, and start accepting that in His eyes you have great worth.
and i realized that praying was in fact the beginning. the beginning of mending and forgiveness. 