When I was 15, I worked as a hostess at a restaurant. One day, a customer complimented me, I think it was about my dimples or my smile. Something small, something kind. Without even thinking, I made a negative remark. I brushed it off. I deflected. I minimized it. A waitress pulled me aside afterward and gently, but firmly, taught me how to take a compliment. “When someone says something kind,” she said, “you can just say thank you.” At the time, I felt embarrassed. But looking back now, I see something much deeper. That moment wasn’t just about manners, it was about my ability to receive anything good. I didn’t know how to let kindness land. I didn’t know how to rest in a gift that was freely given. My instinct was to return it, deflect it, or make myself smaller so I didn’t feel exposed. For years, sometimes even now, I’ve had to consciously practice receiving compliments instead of dodging them. That small moment revealed something much bigger about my heart. I didn’t just struggle to receive God’s love, I didn’t even know how to receive a simple compliment. The truth is, many of us say we believe