Eh, well that last sentence was a little bit of a lie. I am not all that excited to write this post because it requires me to be extra vulnerable. But I feel the need to write it because I don't want anybody else believing the same lies that have been dragging me down lately.
Insecurity in the way we look is something that has been around for ages, or at least since mirrors were invented. But I'm pretty darn sure it has never been as bad as it is in this day and age. Now I love instagram and twitter and Pinterest as much as the next girl but I believe they are very much to blame for this issue. That's because these sites allow us to compare every little thing about our real life self to other people's edited, beautified, filtered selves. I'm guilty of this on both sides, which makes me so frustrated that I let it consume so much of me. If there is an instagram effect that will make my skin look better, you bet I'm going to use it. But then I'll look at somebody else's post and feel so defeated that my skin doesn't look like theirs. Don't get me wrong, I don't think there is anything wrong with editing your pictures but it's the comparing that I cannot stand.
Why can't we just accept that God made us exactly how He wanted to and that we are his most treasured creation? It'd be easy for me to say that I have accepted this truth and wake up just absolutely loving myself every morning but this is so far from the truth. To be completely honest it is very difficult for me to believe that I am "wonderfully and fearfully made" (Psalm 139:14) when I wake up with a giant zit on my face or I'm having a bad hair day. But I don't think that God expects us to feel beautiful all the time, or at least not physically beautiful.
My obsession over image and physical appearance used to be one of the major things I was a slave to before I gave my heart to Jesus. And sometimes when I drift away from God I let them consume me all over again. For the past few weeks, my walk with God has been hindered because of my obsession over meeting the world's standards of beauty. Thoughts such as "I'd be so much prettier if my nose was shaped differently" or "If only I had better skin I wouldn't have to wear so much makeup and people would consider me naturally beautiful" or "Once my hair is a certain length I'll be satisfied with my appearance" just fill my brain all the time. I am laughing at myself as I'm typing these things and I'm sure you're laughing as you read them (especially if you are a boy) because it really is so silly that these types of thoughts have been consuming me, but I told you I was going to be completely transparent so there it is.
As I said I don't think God expects us to feel just absolutely beautiful all the time. He desperately wants us to see ourselves the way He does but He knows that it won't always be that way, and that's okay. I think what is truly important on days that we don't love the way we look is to remember what actually matters. We are more than just a body or a face covered in clothes and makeup, we have souls and minds and hearts. We have potential and ambition, we each have talents and skills and unique features that make us who we are. We each have a specific role in God's greater plan, a specified position just for us if we are willing to take it. Most importantly, we have a mighty, powerful, creative, wise God who is living within us and walking through every moment with us.
This world makes us believe that life is meant to be all about us and that the way we look, the way we act, the possessions we have, and the things we have accomplished will determine the way we end up. But as Christians, we must remember that we already know the way things will end. We are already citizens of Heaven and when it's all said and done, that is where we will spend all of eternity. Life on earth is not about us, it is about the God we are following. It's our mission to use the tools and gifts HE has given us to make our mark on the world. To let HIS words and HIS truth speak through us. To follow the creative and beautiful path HE laid out for us. To let HIS beauty shine through us.
Knowing this, I can go through life not having to worry about the way I look. My God did create me exactly how He wanted me to be and to Him, I am more beautiful than sunsets and mountains and gardens. I don't always believe this, but it is not the point of life. God did not create me to just be pretty, He created me to be a powerful woman of God, which is essentially the most beautiful thing a girl can be. When I used to hear sermons on beauty, I used to think I was expected to wake up and feel so great about my appearance every single day and I would get so discouraged when I couldn't do it. But what really matters is that I focus on what I'm truly here for. When I remember the God who created me and the plans He has made for me, one little zit or some split ends seem like the dumbest thing to care about.
My hope is that the next time you are feeling down about your appearance,
1. you remember that your extravagantly creative God, who made the bluest oceans and peacocks (my favorite animal) and forests of evergreens and snow-tipped mountains and cute little lady bugs and pretty white cats with one blue eye and one brown eye and whatever else you find beautiful in nature, considers you His most treasured creation. You are wonderfully made and you are His masterpiece.
2. you don't let it consume you. There is so much more to life than the way you look. Some days this is hard to believe, but if you take a step back and look at the bigger picture, it is a ridiculous thing to care about. Our mission is to bring glory to God and to tell as many people we can about HIS beauty and who HE is. That is truly all that matters.
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:13, 14
"But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
"You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you." Song of Solomon 4:7
These things make up true beauty.
Five of the most beautiful girls I know, inside and out.
My family makes me feel oh so beautiful
One more bit of truth.
