Reason #899
I don't take pictures too often anymore. Truthfully, I rarely like the way I look in pictures so if I don't take them, no harm done. I certainly did my fair share of picture taking when I was in junior high and high school. Back then it was with a disposable camera, and I am sure the Wal-Mart film developers got a good laugh each time I dropped a camera off. It's probably a really good thing social media wasn't around back then because I have quite the array of humiliating pictures. Of course, I thought I looked cool then and had I been given the option to post pictures like you can today, I probably would have done it thinking it was a good idea to upload a goofy picture of myself for the world to see. Thank goodness those are packed away in a shoebox rather than stored on the internet to be uncovered by future generations.
Aaron brought me a Slurpee to work yesterday accompanied with a mustache straw. I normally don't ask for things, but I saw one of those mustache straws last week and decided that I needed one. I thought they were hilarious, so I asked him to get me one if they were for sale. He answered my request, and I had him take a picture of me sipping my Slurpee with a mustache straw. He sent me the picture, and I uploaded it to Instagram. I looked at the picture and thought, "Oh. My. Gosh. What is going on with my face?" Seriously, my eyes looked like they were about 50 years older than the rest of my face. Clearly, my lack of sleep was showing and there was absolutely no filter on Instagram to make it look any better. I found one that lightened up my face a bit and settled on it. I began to feel a little paranoid and insecure so I went back to a picture that was taken of me last week. I zoomed in as much as I could and breathed out a sigh relief that my eyes matched the rest of my face. Of course, I had slept until 10:30 that day, and the difference between rested eyes and tired eyes was night and day.
Sometimes I get tired of being a woman. In all honesty, I really think we got the short end of the stick. I watched this video tonight that really resonated with me. A secular artists talked about her frustration with photo shopping and how it created unrealistic ideas of women. Amen, sister, amen. And in her video, she encouraged women to just be themselves. To let their hair down, take off the make-up, and be who they were created to be. That's a scary thought for most of us. I remember making the bold decision in college to go to class without make-up one day, and one of my professors came over and asked me if I was sick. I responded that I simply hadn't put on any make-up that morning and she replied, "Oh, well you look very... different." She was right, I did look different and it obviously wasn't a good different. I wore make-up the rest of my college career, and when I didn't, I made sure to put on a hat so that no one would be able to see my bare face.
I have no vendetta against wearing make-up and I am really grateful for it, but sometimes I just feel like no matter how much I try, I'll never be able to pull of that unrealistic photo-shopped look. And I have a fear of getting older. A fear of those bags becoming permanent fixtures to my eyes. Every morning that those pillow lines take more time to smooth out of my cheeks, I start to worry. I start to wonder what's next. I can now count on one hand the number of years I am away from being in my 30's, and my teenaged years are getting further and further behind. And I realize my fear is driven by society. By a world who tells you that you need to look a year younger for every year you get older. Your skin needs to be flawless, your body needs to be firm and toned, your nails done, your teeth white, your clothes adorable, and your accessories should perfectly match. And it's like no matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to get there. I feel pressured to get it all together, to live up to this perfect image, and it's impossible. There has yet to be a day that I look in the mirror and can check off every box. And when I stop and think about it, is that what God is expecting of women?
I think Eve was created without make-up. Of course, this is all speculation, but I am going to go ahead and make my assumptions. I am pretty sure she didn't shave her legs. I highly doubt she had her roots touched up every 6-8 weeks. Obviously, clothes weren't even an option at the start. I don't think Eve plucked her eye brows or spent every Saturday morning with whitening strips on her teeth. I doubt Eve lunged herself around the Garden of Eden. The way she woke up was the way she went to bed. Eve lived in her own skin and there was no shame about it. Maybe she was a perfect specimen and didn't need all of that stuff, but notice that God didn't create her and then send in a hair stylist, make-up artist, plastic surgeon, and fitness trainer to tend to her. God made her perfect, in His image. And notice that she was the very last thing the Lord created. She completed creation, and it was all good. Yet all that changed when Eve was deceived. Once she started to believe lies, she started to cover herself up. She became uncomfortable in her own skin.
God intended us to be comfortable in our skin. That's why we're born in the flesh, raw and complete. Babies are beautiful, and they don't even try. They just are. They are content with being who they are, with being the way God made them. Babies aren't ashamed of their complexion, their toothless smiles, their big heads, or their chubby legs. They are confident. No one has told them what they need to change or shamed them into feeling insecure about themselves, and I fully believe that's what the Lord wants for us. Make-up or no make-up, you are you. Flat hair, frizzy hair, wild hair, or no hair, you are you. Blemished face, spotless skin, dark circles, or fine lines, you are you. You are perfect, lacking nothing. Don't believe the lies about yourself. Don't be ashamed of the features God picked out for you. Don't think you need to look like someone else or live up to an impossible standard of beauty. It's okay to be a human. Underneath all of that photo-shopped perfect is a real human, too. Don't be deceived. You are beautiful, we all are beautiful. And maybe if and when we start believing it, when we stop living in shame and comparison, we'll come to see that true, raw beauty trumps make-up every time. Being created in the image of God is better than being a Covergirl any day of the week. It's true. Live it, believe it, and love who you really are...naked and all.
#899 - For the true beauty He has given each one of us.
"Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame." - Genesis 2:25
Aaron brought me a Slurpee to work yesterday accompanied with a mustache straw. I normally don't ask for things, but I saw one of those mustache straws last week and decided that I needed one. I thought they were hilarious, so I asked him to get me one if they were for sale. He answered my request, and I had him take a picture of me sipping my Slurpee with a mustache straw. He sent me the picture, and I uploaded it to Instagram. I looked at the picture and thought, "Oh. My. Gosh. What is going on with my face?" Seriously, my eyes looked like they were about 50 years older than the rest of my face. Clearly, my lack of sleep was showing and there was absolutely no filter on Instagram to make it look any better. I found one that lightened up my face a bit and settled on it. I began to feel a little paranoid and insecure so I went back to a picture that was taken of me last week. I zoomed in as much as I could and breathed out a sigh relief that my eyes matched the rest of my face. Of course, I had slept until 10:30 that day, and the difference between rested eyes and tired eyes was night and day.
Sometimes I get tired of being a woman. In all honesty, I really think we got the short end of the stick. I watched this video tonight that really resonated with me. A secular artists talked about her frustration with photo shopping and how it created unrealistic ideas of women. Amen, sister, amen. And in her video, she encouraged women to just be themselves. To let their hair down, take off the make-up, and be who they were created to be. That's a scary thought for most of us. I remember making the bold decision in college to go to class without make-up one day, and one of my professors came over and asked me if I was sick. I responded that I simply hadn't put on any make-up that morning and she replied, "Oh, well you look very... different." She was right, I did look different and it obviously wasn't a good different. I wore make-up the rest of my college career, and when I didn't, I made sure to put on a hat so that no one would be able to see my bare face.
I have no vendetta against wearing make-up and I am really grateful for it, but sometimes I just feel like no matter how much I try, I'll never be able to pull of that unrealistic photo-shopped look. And I have a fear of getting older. A fear of those bags becoming permanent fixtures to my eyes. Every morning that those pillow lines take more time to smooth out of my cheeks, I start to worry. I start to wonder what's next. I can now count on one hand the number of years I am away from being in my 30's, and my teenaged years are getting further and further behind. And I realize my fear is driven by society. By a world who tells you that you need to look a year younger for every year you get older. Your skin needs to be flawless, your body needs to be firm and toned, your nails done, your teeth white, your clothes adorable, and your accessories should perfectly match. And it's like no matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to get there. I feel pressured to get it all together, to live up to this perfect image, and it's impossible. There has yet to be a day that I look in the mirror and can check off every box. And when I stop and think about it, is that what God is expecting of women?
I think Eve was created without make-up. Of course, this is all speculation, but I am going to go ahead and make my assumptions. I am pretty sure she didn't shave her legs. I highly doubt she had her roots touched up every 6-8 weeks. Obviously, clothes weren't even an option at the start. I don't think Eve plucked her eye brows or spent every Saturday morning with whitening strips on her teeth. I doubt Eve lunged herself around the Garden of Eden. The way she woke up was the way she went to bed. Eve lived in her own skin and there was no shame about it. Maybe she was a perfect specimen and didn't need all of that stuff, but notice that God didn't create her and then send in a hair stylist, make-up artist, plastic surgeon, and fitness trainer to tend to her. God made her perfect, in His image. And notice that she was the very last thing the Lord created. She completed creation, and it was all good. Yet all that changed when Eve was deceived. Once she started to believe lies, she started to cover herself up. She became uncomfortable in her own skin.
God intended us to be comfortable in our skin. That's why we're born in the flesh, raw and complete. Babies are beautiful, and they don't even try. They just are. They are content with being who they are, with being the way God made them. Babies aren't ashamed of their complexion, their toothless smiles, their big heads, or their chubby legs. They are confident. No one has told them what they need to change or shamed them into feeling insecure about themselves, and I fully believe that's what the Lord wants for us. Make-up or no make-up, you are you. Flat hair, frizzy hair, wild hair, or no hair, you are you. Blemished face, spotless skin, dark circles, or fine lines, you are you. You are perfect, lacking nothing. Don't believe the lies about yourself. Don't be ashamed of the features God picked out for you. Don't think you need to look like someone else or live up to an impossible standard of beauty. It's okay to be a human. Underneath all of that photo-shopped perfect is a real human, too. Don't be deceived. You are beautiful, we all are beautiful. And maybe if and when we start believing it, when we stop living in shame and comparison, we'll come to see that true, raw beauty trumps make-up every time. Being created in the image of God is better than being a Covergirl any day of the week. It's true. Live it, believe it, and love who you really are...naked and all.
#899 - For the true beauty He has given each one of us.
"Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame." - Genesis 2:25
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