Dear Beautifuls,
Over the past few years of my life I have come up against a challenge- The Beast of Beauty.
In the course of the last two months I have talked to many other women about our need to be beautiful, loved, and accepted. I started to wonder- why? Why do we (I) struggle with self image- that BIG question- Am I beautiful?
As I began to ponder this question a few answers - and even more questions began popping into my head-
- Who am I in Christ?
- Why is that important?
- What is left of me when you strip all of the world's titles from me-( sister, daughter, girlfriend...)
- Am I okay with what is left?
- Why do I try so hard to fit in and be accepted?
As I pondered I realized that all of these questions, my fears and my insecurities could be crunched down into 2 questions.
Who am I if I have everything this world values stripped away from me?
When If I am left standing there stripped of all I hold dear - Does God's opinion matter more than mans?
OF course I knew the "Christian" answers. I am a child of God- and of course God's opinion matters more than mans- duh...
But then a voice came into my head - dropping a nagging question which left me flabbergasted
"Lilabets- ( that is what God calls me when He wants me to learn something) why then do you feel the need to wear makeup?"
"Well Lord- its because I want to make your temple as beautiful as possible" I answered quickly.
"Wrong - try again" He laughed. I lamely racked my brain for a new excuse. "Well its because people expect our society to wear makeup."
" Closer," he frowned.
" Lord its because I want to be..."I winced out.
"yes..." He said - waiting.
"accepted." I squeaked.
"By whom? By man? Where am I on your priority list?" He questioned lovingly.
I couldn't answer. I couldn't come up with any excuse I just sat there dumb founded as things I had thought suddenly were put out into the light and I realized that all my head knowledge of beauty was nothing- I didn't believe my worth in my heart. I couldn't comprehend the idea that I was accepted without trying.
As I said this is something I have been dealing with for many years- In my mind- but I now felt called to DO something - actively deal with my issues- take the head knowledge of my beauty and make it heart knowledge.
So I made a decision - No make up for 40 days.
Whenever we take things out of our mind that are bad, I believe in filling it up with Godly thoughts- so I came up with a statement of who I am in Christ and a verse for each one. I am memorizing the statement and the verse daily. I look in my mirror and find one physical and character thing I like about myself and I say it out loud. - and no repeating.
"Bets, you are beautiful! Look at that hair! But better yet you are gregarious! Man's opinion does not matter over God's! Think: You are accepted by God!"
Taking this head knowledge into heart knowledge has been much harder than I thought it would be- but I am working- from the outside in.
I don't have the answers, I struggle with this issue- but this is my journey. My journey to defeat the beast called Beauty, (with the help of my Prince of course!) I don't know where it will take me - but I would love to take you along and let you learn through blog rather than experience.
Remember you are beautiful - inside and out!
- Love
Lilabets- a daughter of The King
Over the past few years of my life I have come up against a challenge- The Beast of Beauty.
In the course of the last two months I have talked to many other women about our need to be beautiful, loved, and accepted. I started to wonder- why? Why do we (I) struggle with self image- that BIG question- Am I beautiful?
As I began to ponder this question a few answers - and even more questions began popping into my head-
- Who am I in Christ?
- Why is that important?
- What is left of me when you strip all of the world's titles from me-( sister, daughter, girlfriend...)
- Am I okay with what is left?
- Why do I try so hard to fit in and be accepted?
As I pondered I realized that all of these questions, my fears and my insecurities could be crunched down into 2 questions.
Who am I if I have everything this world values stripped away from me?
When If I am left standing there stripped of all I hold dear - Does God's opinion matter more than mans?
OF course I knew the "Christian" answers. I am a child of God- and of course God's opinion matters more than mans- duh...
But then a voice came into my head - dropping a nagging question which left me flabbergasted
"Lilabets- ( that is what God calls me when He wants me to learn something) why then do you feel the need to wear makeup?"
"Well Lord- its because I want to make your temple as beautiful as possible" I answered quickly.
"Wrong - try again" He laughed. I lamely racked my brain for a new excuse. "Well its because people expect our society to wear makeup."
" Closer," he frowned.
" Lord its because I want to be..."I winced out.
"yes..." He said - waiting.
"accepted." I squeaked.
"By whom? By man? Where am I on your priority list?" He questioned lovingly.
I couldn't answer. I couldn't come up with any excuse I just sat there dumb founded as things I had thought suddenly were put out into the light and I realized that all my head knowledge of beauty was nothing- I didn't believe my worth in my heart. I couldn't comprehend the idea that I was accepted without trying.
As I said this is something I have been dealing with for many years- In my mind- but I now felt called to DO something - actively deal with my issues- take the head knowledge of my beauty and make it heart knowledge.
So I made a decision - No make up for 40 days.
Whenever we take things out of our mind that are bad, I believe in filling it up with Godly thoughts- so I came up with a statement of who I am in Christ and a verse for each one. I am memorizing the statement and the verse daily. I look in my mirror and find one physical and character thing I like about myself and I say it out loud. - and no repeating.
"Bets, you are beautiful! Look at that hair! But better yet you are gregarious! Man's opinion does not matter over God's! Think: You are accepted by God!"
Taking this head knowledge into heart knowledge has been much harder than I thought it would be- but I am working- from the outside in.
I don't have the answers, I struggle with this issue- but this is my journey. My journey to defeat the beast called Beauty, (with the help of my Prince of course!) I don't know where it will take me - but I would love to take you along and let you learn through blog rather than experience.
Remember you are beautiful - inside and out!
- Love
Lilabets- a daughter of The King
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