What Are You Proud Of? Recognizing Your Growth and Worth After Loss
Loss has a way of reshaping perspective. Life continues forward, but internally something shifts, inviting reflection on who you are becoming. In this episode of Redeeming Her, Deborah Larson and Katie Shive explore a question many people rarely pause to ask: What am I proud of? Not as a comparison exercise or a performance review, but as an act of alignment with how God sees you.
Rather than focusing on what was taken or what changed, the conversation centers on recognizing growth after loss and honoring the value that has been forming quietly along the way. Deborah shares a moment that seemed simple on the surface—putting up a Christmas tree for the first time in years—but became a powerful realization. It was not a marker of what had been lost, but a reflection of how much strength, courage, and healing had already taken place.
Loss does not eliminate growth. Often, it accelerates it. The challenge is that most people move so quickly into what’s next that they never stop to acknowledge what God has already done within them. Recognizing growth after loss is an invitation to see your life through a lens of gratitude rather than deficit, presence rather than pressure.
Seeing Yourself Through God’s Eyes After Hard Seasons
One of the reasons recognizing growth after loss feels uncomfortable is that many people confuse self-recognition with pride. But celebrating progress is not self-centered when it mirrors God’s perspective. Scripture consistently shows a God who delights in growth, faithfulness, endurance, and obedience—often long before external results appear.
As Katie reflects in the episode, loss changes you, but that change does not diminish your worth. It refines it. You are not meant to measure yourself against who you were before or who you think you should be now. You are invited to recognize who you are becoming. Growth after loss often looks quiet: showing up, choosing joy again, honoring beauty, allowing celebration back into your life.
Both Deborah and Katie speak to moments where continuing forward required intentional choice. Not because life demanded it, but because hope allowed it. Celebrating growth after loss is not about denying what happened. It is about acknowledging that God has been at work in you the entire time, cultivating resilience, depth, compassion, and strength you may not fully recognize yet.
When you learn to see yourself through God’s eyes, worth is no longer tied to productivity, perfection, or timelines. It becomes rooted in identity. Growth becomes something to celebrate rather than question. And honoring yourself becomes an act of gratitude, not comparison.
Final Reflection
If asking yourself “What am I proud of?” feels unfamiliar, that may be the invitation. Growth does not always announce itself. Sometimes it shows up quietly, in restored joy, renewed courage, or the willingness to celebrate again.
Recognizing growth after loss is not about looking backward. It is about honoring the work God has already done in you and stepping forward with confidence in your worth.
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