At the risk of sounding strange (if you know me you know its just me) I think people are soooo beautiful!
Each person is distinctly different!!!!
As a woman, I have to admit that I struggle with what every woman struggles with...the need to feel beautiful!
We learn from a young age that its important to be beautiful and have beautiful things in order to gain the approval of people.
As a young child I really struggled with wanting to look like everyone else. I wanted to have blond hair...tiny facial features, be 5 inches taller and of course have all the nicest and newest clothes. It is so hard as a young girl to live in a society where our value is based on the way we look and not who we really are!
I tried for so long to "look the part", but I could never do enough to fill the void I felt deep inside of me.
I tried losing 5 pounds to fit into the newest and coolest jeans...but when I hit my goal weight I ended up not being satisfied and wanted to lose more!
I spent tons of money on getting my hair colored, and getting all the "name brand" makeup in order to feel pretty...but I ended up always wanting more and more because I never found true satisfaction!
I wore clothes that were inappropriate to gain the attention of my peers and to fit in with what the other girls were doing...but in the end I realized I was only disrespecting myself and lessening my true value.
I began to see that no matter what I did...nothing I could do was ever going to be enough.
Sadly, I struggled with this for many years! Those years were filled with tears and heartache because I wanted so badly to feel beautiful!
Several years ago the Lord led me to attend a Bible study about a woman named Esther.
If you don't know Esther...well let me just tell you...she was a beautiful woman!
But more than that,Esther was a woman who feared the Lord and wanted to be known for her quiet spirit and her love for the Lord over her physical beauty.
Esther won the approval of a king because he could see something different in her....
There were hundreds of beautiful women he could have chosen...but she was different!
She was humble and modest in heart and dress.
All of the women who were seeking the attention of the king were beautiful...so why did Esther grab his attention?
Sisters, Esther was chosen because the king saw a difference in her that so many of the other girls did not have!
She did not need to look like every other girl...because her value came not from what she wore...but from the value that she found in a relationship with Jesus!
My heart cries out to God for so many of the young girls that are facing the battle of thinking they need to find their value in the way they look!
It saddens me to see women lose sight of the importance of modesty. We think that somehow by showing our bodies we are impressing someone when we are in fact dishonoring them and disrespecting ourselves.
I ache to hear stories of precious little girls who are broken because a boy does not think they are beautiful!
I want to buy a pink cape that has the word "encourager" on it and fly around to each girl and woman who is broken and rescue them from their pain! ( I might just buy one..ha)
Thankfully, I know that the Lord is the only Hero we need!
My job is to spend time lifting girls up and reminding them that they are so much more than the way that they look!
I have been mentoring two young girls who are really fighting against wanting the approval of boys.
It saddens me because the television shows they watch and the images they see in magazines do not help them! They are bombarded with lies that only lead to heartache.
My prayer is that each girl would begin to know how beautiful they truly are and how much they are loved...just for who they are!
Do you know a young girl who is struggling with wanting to feel beautiful?
Is there some way you can reach out to her? We can relate right? So why not help future generations realize their value isn't in the way they look.
Maybe its not someone you know...maybe its you.
We all want to feel beautiful. Even I want to make sure I stay in shape and look good when I go out on dates. (who doesn't right)
But we have to realize that our beauty comes from the inside! When we really begin to love ourselves and see ourselves the way that God sees us, we begin to see our true value is not in the image that stares back at us in the mirror; however, it is in the beauty that God has placed inside of us!
When you find joy in who you are...your confidence and joy will be seen as a beautiful and unique quality that people will run to!
I pray that each of us would seek ways to remind the women(young and old) how truly beautiful they are!
Encouragement means to instill courage!
Today, how can you instill courage into the life of someone you know?
I wish I could reach out and hug each of you!
My prayer for you is that you would see how truly beautiful you are!
Jesus loves you just the way you are...there is so much peace in that!!!!
Oh how He loves you and me!!!!!!!!!!!
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