Hello, My Name Is: Beautiful!
“Do you think I’m pretty?
I think you’re beautiful.
Beautiful?
You are so beautiful, it hurts sometimes.” - Richelle
Mead, Vampire Academy
“You are altogether beautiful, my darling, and there is no blemish
in you! - Song of Solomon 4:7
I think this is a common thread in a woman’s life. We are taught
at a young age not to accept ourselves. We don’t take praise easily. We
undermine the things we have done well. Like a bitter pill, we swallow
admiration. It is as if by not completely accepting our worth we retain some
semblance of humility. How did we come to believe this form of rejection is a
healthy characteristic of a Christian woman?
Even arrogance holds within itself a sense of doubt. It often
exposes the fractures of a soul that does not know oneself well. The attempts
to overcompensate bruise the true beauty and worth of the person that lies
beneath the frigid façade.
So, how do we create a balance? How do we come to the conclusion
that we are beautiful? There is abundant talk on inner beauty. This is the most
worthwhile endeavor. It should be fostered above all else. But, I think women
need to know they are physically beautiful!
Understand this for a moment, God does not create junk. God
creates things and He calls them good. Think of all the things He makes that
simply delight the eye: a mountain range, a sunrise/sunset, the ocean, a leaf,
the night sky. There is no end to His brilliant display.
God also made us in His image. How utterly breathtaking is our
God? If we are an image of God, are we not equally beautiful? Yes, the
constructs begin internally, but are we not also physical works of beauty? I
think about an elderly man and woman. I see their beauty in the laugh lines and
the sparkle behind their eyes. I watch a Mama as she watches her children,
grown and long left the nest, and I see the blush of youth touch her face as if
she held them swaddled warm.
I have penned this before but, I believe one of my true purposes
on this journey is to let people; women in particular, truly understand and
know their worth. So if you get nothing else in this entire post, please know
that YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL! Just like Lucy told Charlie Brown, “You have thick
beauty!”
“How beautiful you are, my darling, How beautiful you are! Your
eyes are like doves.” – Song of Solomon 1:15
“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known
defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way
out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, sensitivity, and an
understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep
loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.” – Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
I have met people who are physically striking, but bitterly ugly
people inside. I call these people, “cream cheese molds”. Stand them up to any
amount of heat and they will melt away to nothing. There isn’t a foundation for
their beauty.
I have met people that, to me, were not physically beautiful, but
as I got to know their heart and the care and compassion they express to
others; along with their strong self-worth, they become some of the most
gorgeous human beings I could ever behold.
Superficial beauty does not get us far. An authentic beauty does
not just happen. It is formed by overcoming affliction and still having a
tenderness of spirit that allows beauty to heal brokenness.
“You are imperfect, permanently & inevitably flawed. And you
are beautiful.”
- Amy Bloom
“For you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace; the
mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, and all
the trees of the field will clap their hands.” – Isaiah 55:12
Your beauty captivates. It stills the breath in His lungs.
“Therefore, behold, I will allure her, bring her into the
wilderness and speak kindly to her. Then I will give her her vineyards from
there, and the valley of Achor (trouble) will be a door of hope. And she will
sing there as in the days of her youth, as in the days when she came up from
the land of Egypt.” - Hosea 2:14-15
He sings over you:
“The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will
exult over you with joy, He will quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you
with shouts of joy!" -Zephaniah 3:17
I don’t know the exact moment I broke free. Yet, I know there is
no going back. I am beautiful. There is no more ugly duckling hoping her grey
dawn will be replaced with glistening white feathers. The truth is that ugly
duckling was kicked to the curb the moment Jesus redeemed me through His blood.
In truth, we are all masterpieces orchestrated by His hand. He
doesn’t create junk to put in His art gallery. He displays us with pride and
joy. He delights in all of His creation.
“I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully
made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it well.” – Psalm 139:14
For our souls to know it well! This isn’t a contrived notion or a
hopeful fancy. We are beautiful and breathtaking. The world can try to bring
that fact asunder, but will fail in the light of His truth. So, raise your head
high, and say thank you when someone gives you a compliment. Understand that
your purpose is rare, special, and prized. You are a gem of high regard. You
are sought after.
You. Are. Beautiful.
“Think of all the beauty still left around you & be happy.” –
Anne Frank
“Splendor & majesty are before Him, strength and beauty are in
His sanctuary.” - Psalm 96:6
In closing, may I leave you with some quotes that are utterly and
completely true:
“There is no exquisite beauty…without some strangeness in the
proportion. - Edgar Allan Poe
“A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.” – Coco Chanel
WORK IT GIRL!!!
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