Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Beauty is both a blessing and a curse.
I am beautiful in every single way.
Beauty is a slippery topic in today’s world. Every culture has its standard, its expectation for what it considers beautiful. And if you don’t fit into that specific mold—or some very narrow variation of it—then you’re just…plain. Plain Jane, right? I mean without vibrant eyes, a dazzling smile, and perfect hair you must be just normal…right? If you don’t turn heads and capture an entire room’s attention as you cross the threshold, there must be something off…right? You’ve got to be this skinny and this tan, but not orange tan cause that’s tacky. You’ve got to have straight teeth and colored hair, no roots showing, y’all! Good Lord, help us all if there’s any gray in there. What if you don’t wear the right brands of clothing or the top notch jewelry? No, no, mustn’t let anyone know that you prefer t-shirts to blouses and we are certainly not going after that last piece of double dutch chocolate cake!
Look, I’m not saying it’s wrong to paint your nails or curl your hair. I’m not saying girls shouldn’t paint their faces or wear stylish outfits. We’re girls! We like dressing up and looking nice! And that’s okay. What’s not okay is when you feel inferior for bucking up against the “norm.” What’s not okay is when girls cower in their bedrooms, obsessing over their weight or that one little freckle. We need a serious shift in our culture. Models, y’all are gorgeous, but all my Plain Jane’s…so are you. We’ve already established that You Are Special. Now we’re going one step further. You are individual, unique, and one of a kind. That in and of itself makes you beautiful. You hold something that no one else does, but even more, that which you hold is beautiful.
God put a lot of thought into you. He broke the mold when He made you. The Bible says He knit me together in my mother’s womb (Psalm 139 NIV). In Isaiah, it says “We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” We’re told from the very beginning in Genesis that we were “formed…from the dust of the ground” that God Himself “breathed into [the man’s] nostrils the breath of life.” These are all pretty specific images. Any artists out there? How much love and attention do you put into your work? How much pride do you take in the finished product? No matter what others say, some part of you will always feel pride and admiration for your work. Imagine how much more God sees in you, His masterpiece.
God doesn’t do ugly. Lemme just tell ya. He crafted us specifically and beautifully. We are “fearfully and wonderfully made” and David went on to say that God’s “works are wonderful” that “my frame was not hidden from you…when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body.” You aren’t just plain. You aren’t just normal. You are made uniquely and your style is all your own. So, rock those tennis shoes, revel in the relief of no makeup and wavy hair. Eat the blasted cookie! And know that beauty isn’t what you look like on the outside.
True beauty is in your character. Beauty isn’t marred by kindness, selflessness, and strength. It is enhanced by them. When you wipe the tears from a child’s cheeks, when you carry the old woman’s groceries to her car, when you make your oatmeal the way your brother likes it instead of the way you like it, those are the things that make you beautiful. Sharing that last bite of dessert, lending a helping hand, and standing up for what you believe in despite this crazy world are the true measures of beauty. Have courage. Stand tall. Be confident. Love others. Share joy. Spread peace. Build patience. Your character, who you are inside, that is what matters most. That is what makes you shine.
Conversely, the most jaw-dropping woman and the handsomest hunk can quickly lose their beauty with a cold look in their eyes or a love that must be earned. You know what I mean. In Proverbs 31, it says “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” When you see a man’s true colors surface, he suddenly doesn’t draw your eye like he used to. When a woman lashes out and loses her temper or treats her employees poorly, she suddenly doesn’t hold the same appeal that she used to. You find disappointment in their lack of character. And that taints your view of them. Because their hearts are ugly, it doesn’t matter how “beautiful” their bodies are.
We’re all aging, and our bodies are changing as we grow older. We’ll fit the culture’s idea of beauty or we won’t, but eventually we’ll all be old, gray, and wrinkled. But, is that such a bad thing? One of my favorite Proverbs says that “gray hair is the crown of the wise.” I can’t wait for mine, y’all! I’ll have earned every single gray hair on my head. With age comes experience and with experience comes wisdom. Our elders are gold mines for knowledge! They have been through the fires of life’s trials and they came out on top! Doesn’t that make them extraordinarily beautiful? They’ve learned patience from the years and years and years of practice. They’ve learned how to be selfless and how to exert self-control. Think about the way a grandpa approaches his grandchildren. Have you ever seen someone so gentle? That isn’t frailty. It’s strength. It takes strength to know that precise balance of firmness and gentleness. It takes strength to build trust and speak with honesty. They’ve learned how to love one another and what’s important enough to fight for. When seeking to refine our characters and polish our own beauty, we need to seek wisdom.
I don’t know about you, but I want to find someone who will see me with God’s eyes. I want people in my life who will cherish me for who I am, not what I wear. I want people who will love the ink stains on my fingers and who will think I am beautiful because I smile, because I am joyful. I want a husband who thinks I’m beautiful when I throw my hair up in a messy bun and don jeans for the fourth day in a row. That way, when I do put in the time to “look nice” I can really blow him away. Surround yourself with the kinds of friends who will build you up and challenge you to grow in your faith and in your character. Don’t bow to a false beauty. Redefine beautiful. See others as God sees them. See yourself as God sees you. He thinks you’re amazing, so what does it matter what anyone else says?
I am beautiful because this is the way God made me, and He makes no mistakes. He shaped me from the dust of the earth into the child that I am. I don’t have to wear my hair down or makeup on my face to be beautiful. I don’t have to put on a dress or be tan to be beautiful. I don’t have to meet anyone’s demands or standards. True beauty isn’t physical. I am beautiful just the way I am. I am beautiful inside and out, and so are you.
Love always,
Coralie
Check out Redefining Beautiful by Jenna Lucado
Beautiful Christina Aguilera