Over time, given our perseverance on our faith journey, we will begin to notice that our attitude towards, and perception of, ourselves begins to change. We begin to relate to ourselves in a way that Paul (1Cor 13: 4-7) describes as love. Why would this not be so? Our loving attitude towards ourselves grows. In experiencing an increasing sense of our own worthiness, there is less of a tendency to be jealous, conceited or proud. Ironically, we are less irritable with ourselves and our shortcomings even though, in our increasing self-awareness, our imperfections seem to be more and more apparent to us! We no longer keep a record of our wrongs, but are accepting of the growing awareness of the truth of who we are - a child of God, born in his image and likeness. We no longer give up on ourselves. We keep on hoping in God's ongoing healing in our lives. There is an ongoing growth in our confidence in God's loving mercy.