Unfailing Beauty

You are beautiful. Let me say it again, YOU are beautiful. And since they say that the time is a charm, hear it once more: you ARE beautiful. I know, it feels crazy, right? Well, I'll let you in on a little secret: it's true.

The fact is that many girls today struggle with their looks. According to a survey by Bliss magazine, nearly 90% of the participants surveyed said that they were dissatisfied with their looks. Looking in the mirror at yourself, it's really easy to see your flaws. Maybe it seems your hair is a little too frizzy, or you feel to ate too much ate dinner the other day. Maybe all that you see are the tired droops under your eyes or think your nose is too pointed. Maybe you're plagued with acne or see a million and one of those other imperfections in yourself. You look at yourself with a critical eye, zoning in on what you perceive as those flaws in yourself - flaws that others don't often see in you. And sometimes, the only thought you can think is, "I'm so ugly. How could anyone ever love me?"

So why do you do it? Maybe you've heard some comments about how maybe you should get some more exercise. Maybe someone's mentioned that you should cover up your blemishes with makeup - it'll look "better". Or maybe you've just been receiving those subtle messages that society sends us through pictures, TV, ads, billboards, movies and songs. How many of you have have gone to a grocery store and seen those magazine covers displaying the "perfect" model? You know, the pictures of models with the perfect hair, perfect eyes, perfect shape, perfect size, perfect everything. It feels hard to match that, like you'll never be "perfect" and "beautiful", but here's the thing: many of those models don't exist. Below is a video produced by Dove showing how a model is transformed from their everyday image to that "perfect" model that you see on a magazine or billboard. The difference is staggering. Compared to photoshopped images, you actually exist and are more beautiful and special than a phototshopped image can ever be.

When you see yourself in the mirror, you are not seeing what others see in you. While concentrating on your hair, you might not notice that bright smile you give that makes others feel happy themselves. While focusing on blemishes, you may not notice how your eyes sparkle a certain way when you laugh. You're only seeing part of the picture. Still, these outward things I'm mentioning are nothing compared to where your true beauty lies.

The true beauty that we have is not external; it's internal. It comes from our thoughts, our actions, our words, our intention and our love of God. It comes from our personalities and desires to do something wonderful in the world. Our true beauty comes from who we are, not what we look like. And who are we? We are children of God. We were made intentionally and specifically by God. He created us "in His image and likeness" (Genesis 1:27) and we are not mistakes. We "are precious in His sight" (Isaiah 43:4), and He loves us more than we can ever imagine. Song of Songs 4:7 states, "You are altogether beautiful, my love, and there are no flaws in you." Being the daughters and sons of the one true King, we are all beautiful.

I once told a dear friend of mine that our beauty is like a stained glass window, and I want to expand on that metaphor for you all. Imagine a stained glass window. It's made of broken fragments of colored glass - little parts that make up the whole. When it's dark, it's hard to tell what the stained glass is supposed to look like. That stained glass window without light is the way you see yourself in the mirror externally. Now, let's imagine that the sun is shining brightly through the window, casting its colorful light beans everywhere. It looks absolutely stunning, doesn't it? All of a sudden those little fragments of glass make sense together; they make a beautiful picture. The sunlight is like your inner true beauty - the things that make you you. The sunlight also represents God. The beauty of the stained glass window with light, my friends, is what you are when you let your light from the inside shine. The light shines through and is visible both internally and externally. That's what makes you beautiful.

So, yes, YOU are beautiful. You've always been and always will be. True beauty does not fade with time. The next time you think a harsh thought about your looks, I challenge you to stop for a minute and think. Think about what true beauty really is. Think about one thing that makes you truly beautiful. And then smile. Yes, smile and say to yourself that you are more than what you see in the mirror, more than that outward appearance. You are a child of God who reflects the light and beauty of God to the world. And by doing that, you are truly beautiful. 

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To go along with this, some songs came to mind that I'd like to post along with this. 

The first is called More Beautiful You by Jonny Diaz. It's a song about how the world makes it seem like we will never be pretty enough but that they are only "lies, disguises and hoops they make you jump through." It talks about you are "perfect just the way you are" and how "there can never be a more beautiful you." (And yes, this video takes scenes from the Chronicles of Narnia movies. I thought it turned out well for this song!)

The other song is called Made by Hawk Nelson. It's about how you're perfectly beautiful and made. It shows that God takes pride in you and how you "light up the Maker's eyes" and "put a smile on His face."

          

Happy Easter and God bless,

Emily Silverwing