Reason #460

Maybe you’re like me. Maybe you suffer from being a tough self-critic, from being really hard on yourself. Maybe you occasionally hold yourself to standards that seem unrealistic, or maybe, like me, you hold yourself to the standards of others. Maybe, like I do, you look in the mirror and you see all that’s wrong. And, if you’re anything like me, when you look at someone else, you not only see all that’s right, you also notice all that you aren’t. You find yourself looking for that miracle product. The one that slims and tones, that darkens the right spots, lightens the wrong ones, and erases the embarrassing ones. The shampoo that gives your hair just the right amount of volume and shine and prolongs the color so your roots don’t show as quickly. You search high and low for a lotion that gives your skin a perfect glow, make-up that conceals every flaw, mascara to make your tiny eyelashes look long and perfect, toothpaste to whiten up your teeth, and nail polish that lasts longer than 2 days to top off the look. And before you know it, you’re not you anymore. Well, you are you, just an enhanced version of yourself. And I’m not arguing that there’s a thing wrong with that. But what happens when the polish is chipped, the mascara is smudged, you’re unintentionally pulling off that ombre look with your hair, and the only good thing about that magic toning lotion is that it smells good?

 

Are you okay being you? Being the person you were created to be? Is it really possible to be comfortable in your own skin, the skin you were born in, not the skin you labor on each morning? It’s tough. It’s tough to live in a world stocked full of beauty products that promise to make you perfect. And the magazines – don’t even get me started. The perfect 10 minute workout, the one week diet, the quick abs and the buns of steel, how to make your hair grow like a weed, how to smooth out the cellulite, ways to prevent blemishes from ever happening again, all empty promises. Tricks of the trade that are exactly that – tricks. And eventually, after trying them all, you realize that you were tricked into believing they would actually work and all you’re left with is disappointment.

 

There’s this Dove commercial circling the internet. A lot of my girlfriends posted it on Facebook last night, so I took a few minutes to finally watch it before going to bed. I fought back tears about half way through the video, as it was so true. I listened to these women give incredibly detailed, incredibly critical descriptions of themselves. They weren’t looking into a mirror but were describing themselves from memory. This was how they truly viewed themselves. As they spoke, an artist drew a person with those characteristics. Then, someone came behind them and described each woman as they remembered them. There was a significant difference between the two descriptions, and you know what I noticed? When looking at the drawing of each woman’s self description, she looked angry, unhappy and sad. And I realized this is how we so often feel when we think of ourselves. Sad, disappointed, frustrated, unhappy. We aren’t proud of who we are because we are stuck in the cycle of constantly trying to perfect ourselves. Constantly trying to fix what we believe is flawed rather than accepting and embracing who God created us to be.

 

The bible is the best place to look for truth and answers, and if we look there instead of beauty magazines or down the cosmetics aisle, we see that beauty is defined differently. In fact, it’s completely opposite of what we’re told. Because in the living, breathing word of God, you won’t find verses that say, “true beauty is long dark hair, tan skin, a spotless complexion, a 24-inch waist, perfectly arched eye brows and legs that go on for miles.” It says, “true beauty comes from within. From a gentle and quiet spirit.” And that’s how we please God, who makes all things beautiful. It’s not with toned thighs, polished nails or an incredibly cute wardrobe. And aren’t you glad for that? Because I know that were He to give a description of us, it wouldn’t be anything like the one we’d give of ourselves. He’d say, “Brittnye –ah yes, well, she has big blue eyes. I chose them just for her. And she has this smile that spreads across her face. It’s probably her most distinctive feature. She’s petite, just like I designed her to be. In fact, she looks exactly how she is supposed to look. I intentionally created her. Much thought went into it, and I wouldn’t do a thing different. But more than that, than what she looks like or what she doesn’t look like, she is created in my image – fearfully and wonderfully made.” And I know He’d say the same thing about you, too.

 

#460 - Because this is how He created me to be.

 

"Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes.You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful." - 1 Peter 3:3-5