We often think of beauty as external We see the people around us, and we judge their beauty, We see the world around us, and enjoy its beauty. We think about ourselves, and we often struggle to see our true beauty.
Personally, I find beauty in everyone I see. Human beings are the most amazing, creative machine ever to be made. We come in all sizes, shapes and colors. How could something so diverse and complicated not be beautiful. I know many of you out there are on the train that beauty is skin deep, but I am here to tell you, I think there is more to appreciate then what meets the eye.
I remember growing up and watching Disney movies, looking at the magazines, watching TV shows where it seems everyone that took center stage was pretty or handsome (according to the world's assessment) and the story line always ends miraculously perfect and wonderful. We begin to associate outside beauty with a good life. We have taken these ideas and ran with them. We run right into the mirror to see if we measure up, some things we may like, and others, we don't. We take these ideals or idols on tv and compare ourselves to them. We can compare, but most of us don't stop there. We then evaluate our worth based on the comparison we come up with. Add that to all the awful things we hear about ourselves resulting in a lower self esteem. It's as if all these worldly influences just keep driving us to dislike ourselves. We expect perfection. However, I think most of us, by age two, realized this isn't possible.
I am here to tell you, you don't have to base your life on all these erroneous gauges. Since when did it help you out any way? So, let's take a good hard look at what beauty really is.
Have you ever thought about that old couple you have seen? They look happy. They are still married. They don't look twenty anymore but they are confident, secure and have much love for one another. Yes, people, this does exist. It's not always perfect for these couples, but they have some basic truths of life.
Speaking of life, what is it? Is life just something that we have until we die because we breathe every day? I would venture to say there is more to this word than just getting up in the morning and being able to breathe. I remember when I passed from death to life and I was breathing and waking up in the mornings on both sides.
So what is this force called life? (If you haven't found this answer you can check out the welcome Blog on this site as well This is where it started for me.). Without the very essence of this life, there's not much joy or love we can have. It becomes quite limited without the one who provides life and love. Before you go right out and try to obtain the basic truths of life, I highly suggest you find the source of all of life on earth.
After many years of walking with the one true creator of all things, I have grown in my ability to love and enjoy all of God's creations. Every person I see, I see the divine creation and intention of love. I see the unique qualities physically, and in their hearts. I don't see everything, but I can see the beautiful ways God makes everyone.
One day, we were hanging out with a friend at a baseball field with her kids baseball buddies and their families, I was the stranger in the bunch. I just watched and was friendly. Every person carried their own beauty. For some reason God decided to share His heart with me about a certain person. She was definitely of Irish and/or Scottish descent. She had red hair and freckles and pail skin. As He shared His heart, I could tell he was very happy with what he created. It was so interesting to hear his heart. I have seen this a couple of times with different people. I realized that there was a strong possibility that for years she may not have liked her freckles, or hair or other things, I decided to share and encourage her to be happy with how she was made, to enjoy her differences because they are beautiful. Diversity is beautiful.
When I think of ugly, it mostly comes to me in the way of evil. I have noticed over the years that if someone is steeped in evil, it will over shadow them, causing them to appear ugly or sour. But when that is lifted off of them it is easier to see the true beauty intentionally put there by the Divine Creator. As we walk in the light, the light of men, Jesus, he clears the way for the true beauty within us to take over (that is if you have Jesus). This beauty, all the while residing in each individual. It doesn't matter whether you have the celebrity body or not, just enjoy the beauty you have been given. Enjoy beauty from a diversity outlook.
Beauty comes in many forms and packages. I have some of the most beautiful friends. I have a friend who has the most amazing kardashian figure naturally and I just want to say to the specific Kardashian ... eat your heart our lady. You went to lengths and surgery to look this way and God gifted this beautiful christian woman naturally. I also have friends that are super thin. Some of them don't like their thinness because it is too much for them
, and some of them are happy with it, either way they are beautiful. And all my friends somewhere in between anything else, I only see beauty. I love diversity and I love God's creation. You are God's creation and I think you are pretty neat and a beautiful creation of God..
Some of us are, what the world would call pretty on the outside but inside we are angry and harsh making it hard for people to see who we are really meant to be. It makes us look ugly because anger is in the way, but once anger and bitterness are removed, your true beauty comes through. Deep down you have great compassion and love for others. There is a beauty that comes through you to others that is invaluable for all of us. Once we let go of pain, anger, lies and bitterness the true beauty God put in you comes forth and is invaluable to your life and others.
Physical beauty is skin deep and over time is fleeting. Some of us who can afford to hang onto to it can, but for the rest of us who can't spend millions on our bodies with botox and surgery there comes a day we get to wear the marks of wisdom and grace of a life lived well. We age, and in this, there is a beauty. In an ancient scripture we hear them honor and commemorate old age. They called their white and gray hair a crown of wisdom. It marks the age and time of life where we have lived and learned from life and carry wisdom from our experiences. Those gray hairs mean something and should be cherished. If you are turning gray at 18, that just means you are lacking vitamins and need to get on a good whole food multivitamin and change up your diet to impact your health positively. But, for those who have earned their stripes, be proud to wear the marks of wisdom in your life. After all, it is a fad to have gray hair right now. Just as there is natural beauty in youth, there is so much beauty in the later years. I see old people and they are cute and curious to me. What have they experienced in life that has been so amazing and facsinating that I will never know anything about unless I ask them. How much beauty of a long lived life is locked up in that memory and heart. How many people they loved and cared for and overcame hardships, and so on. There's so much for us to enjoy in each others lives. We are little treasures and joy. Yes, you are a treasure and a joy. Even if you struggle with pain, bitterness, and anger, I know deep down there always has been some kind of creation of beauty and love God meant for you to express in this earth. Once it is unearthed in you, it becomes clear how wonderful his creation is, that is, you!
I get that it can be hard to see the truth in this, to truly like ourselves and overcome pain. It is a daily walk with Jesus for me, as I tackle each opportunity with him to overcome pain and continue to release forgiveness and joy. Each of us carries around some lie or lies about our value and our soul enemy (not ourselves) is more than happy to remind us of how awful we are through others and even our own thoughts. These thoughts can be the hardest things to overcome because we have believed these awful things about ourselves for so long. These old recordings make it hard to see the true beauty that God has put in us. We expect to live up to a certain standard that truly is impossible at times which then can create bad feelings about ourselves. These expectations often do not stop with ourselves but we use them to evaluate the worth of others creating a harsh and judgmental environment not only towards ourselves but also others. This scares people away because they already struggle with elements of this condemnation. This viscous cycle keeps going. Then people reject people and it then confirms our worst thoughts. All the while it has only been these lies and anger in your heart that creates the cycle. You are not ugly. You just simply have a cycle system that is feeding lies to the brain and the brain goes to work to prevent it or avoid it, all the while, recreating the cycle over and over again.
What we believe is activated and agreed upon. This is faith. Faith can work against you. If you believe the wrong things it will bring back misery, sorrow and evil in our lives. But if we place our trust in the One true God and His truth, we will reap goodness, love and joy. (I am not saying life will be perfect.) So, you see, the one who created you to be so beautiful has not changed his mind about what he created you to be. You are beautiful from start to finish. It's just time to unbury that beauty and be free from that which covers and hides it. We are beautiful. You are beautiful.
If it helps you, until you can really see your real beauty and enjoy how God sees you, you can always have fun dressing up and getting all dolled up. I know, when I do, it does make me feel better and more confident. If you are not sure how to do this, take an adventure and head to a department store with a makeup counter and see if someone will give you a free makeover. Wear something that makes you feel fancy and do things from time to time to give yourself these little boosts of change to help your mind and heart enjoy the beauty created within you. God thinks you are beautiful, it no longer matters what the world says about the subject. They get it wrong most of the time anyway.
Doing things like this is helpful in celebrating beauty and helps us see ourselves in a different light, which is needed in our lives. Getting dolled up changes our understanding of who we are into something different and more positive, that is if you are not doing it for the wrong reasons (like seductions). This mind shift can then help us to shift internally as well. We can begin to think of ourselves in light of beauty, but remember this skin deep experiences can remain skin deep. Instead, let those moments change your heart about what you believe about yourself. Let those moments, when you see yourself in a more positive light, help you come out of old harsh lies and belief systems that are the true culprit and hinderance to you seeing the true beauty God put in you. Don't remain at skin deep but dig down into God's love and begin to see how awesome he thinks you are. After all, didn't he create you? He knows what beauty he put in you and just what he made you for. He is right there wanting to show you. You may just discover how awesome you are and how awesome he is too.
So, next time someone compares you or you compare yourself, take a quick inventory or the beauty you have been given and celebrate it. After all, God celebrates you every day. He is enamored with you.
So beautiful. Thank you