I have shared this post many times. However, I believe it is a message that every woman/girl needs at least once a year. You are beautiful! Do not let the world around you define who you are. We have a great identity crisis in our world. We have let an unseen enemy steal our identities and feed us with lies. What's worse is that we believe the lies! We believe we are not good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, skinny enough, talented enough, and the list goes on. If you want to know who you are, read Ephesians 1 or John 16-17. You are empowered and loved by the God of the Universe! You are beautiful just as you are!
“I’m
fat!” She looks in the mirror with
loathing. The image being reflected back
to her looks nothing like the image she sees gracing the cover of every fashion
magazine at the supermarket. Her physique
isn’t dangerously thin; her complexion isn’t satiny smooth and airbrushed to
perfection. Therefore, in this media
driven society, she has come to believe that she is fat and ugly. And as a woman, we have all stood there with
her, believing the lies, hating the image.
The
reality? She is perfect. She is a healthy weight and refreshingly
natural for a growing, adolescent girl.
Yet, one can’t tell her the facts enough that she’ll ever believe
them. She believes what she sees, and
the voice of truth passes by her like a soft, summer breeze barely noticeable
in the heat of the scorching afternoon sun.
The images burn her soul until her self-confidence lies in a heap of
ashes waiting to be carried away with the next gust of wind.
God
created a world full of beautiful, diverse things. No two sunsets are ever the same, yet each
one is as breathtaking as the next. Not
once do we stop and say, “No, this one’s not pretty. Only the one that had the streaks of magenta
swirling through the slate blue sky in just the right proportions was
beautiful. That’s what every sunset
should look like. And if it doesn’t,
it’s not good enough. It’s not
perfect!” Instead, we appreciate each
sunset for its uniqueness.
Of
all the flowers in the world, with their varying shades of color, size, and
shape, not once have we taken a pure white, slender rose and photographed it
(airbrushing out all its imperfections), and placed it on the cover of every
gardening magazine and said, “This is the only flower that has beauty worth
having!” In fact, most horticulturists would
tell you that those lovely white roses fade very quickly and are difficult to
raise. It would be more practical to
choose something with a more lasting beauty that is hardier.
Why,
then, does our society do this to women?
And who gets to choose the ideal?
Daughters
of America, do you not realize you are wonderfully and perfectly made by a
loving God that recognizes what true beauty is? You are beautiful because you are
different! Psalm 139:13-14 (NIV) states,
“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.”
Did you get that? God’s works are
wonderful! You are His work! You are beautiful! You are perfect just the way God created you
while you were still in your mother’s womb.
It’s
time to go to the mirror, look at the reflection, and appreciate the image that
you see—another sunset gracing the sky with diversity and delight; a rare
flower blooming to perfection. That’s
you! It’s time to embrace who God
created you to be no matter what your color, shape, or size. Be beautiful, my dear sisters! God created you that way!
