beauty

I have always longed to be beautiful, and never quite felt like I was, except in rare, indescribable moments. I was made with a longing for beauty, but I have sought it in the wrong places, in the wrong ways. I have always longed to surround myself with beauty- my friends, my home, my clothing, my music. Beauty is something we all seek, and we all have different standards and definitions of what we deem beautiful.

God created us to seek and respond to beauty, because He is ultimately the most Beautiful:

“The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones–like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow.” ~Revelation 4:3

We are made in His image, so therefore we are beautiful too.

We have a tendency in society to define beauty in a certain superficial, one-dimensioned way. It’s culturally determined and has nothing to do with actual, true beauty, the unique and incredible beauty that God bestows on each one of us. But as we humans always do, we try to fit beauty into a box: thin, white, blonde, curvy, blue eyes, muscular, tan…etc. I think this is so detrimental because it strips us of the ability to see what is actually beautiful, which is everything that God created. No manipulation necessary.

A baby’s laugh.

The quiet mornings with a cup of coffee and the hope of a new day.

A woman who looks worn and disheveled, without any hair, but has won the battle of cancer- and the cancer of the soul.

Truly beautiful people are not ashamed of their flaws and don’t try to hide them. Truly beautiful people are joyful and kind and gentle and their beauty has nothing to do with their looks- although beauty does spread from the inward out. You can have the blondest hair and the bluest eyes but if your soul is cold and empty you cannot be beautiful.

Beauty lasts, and beauty can be sustained. Eating disorders kill. Pills become harder to swallow.

Why do we keep chasing this lesser beauty, this beauty that’s not really beauty at all but actually ugly? I just keep praying to God to train my eyes to see differently, to see real beauty and honor that beauty. I think it will make looking in the mirror and finding another pimple a little easier.