The other day my 2 year old,
sitting on my lap, pointed to my arm, to a brown spot and said “Pretty”
I was
startled at first. `That’s no
pretty’ I thought. `Those are my blemishes’
“Pretty,”
she said again.
My heart
melted.
I squeezed
her. “Yes pretty,” I told her.
Our world
has told us we must look a certain way to be `pretty’… even beautiful. We look
in the mirror and are our worst critics.
“Ug, I look
terrible.”
“I hate my
hair, if only my hair was like so and so’s.”
“I’m too
big”
“I’m too hairy.”
“I’m not
skinny enough.”
You know
that saying, “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”? And why is that so? Why
can’t we look in the mirror and see a pretty, even beautiful person. When our
husbands or fathers or friends tell us we’re beautiful, do we believe them, or
just think they’re being nice?
Psalm 139: 14
I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy
works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in
secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and
in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned,
when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how
great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the
sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.
If we are
precious and perfectly formed together as babies by the hand of God, why do we
criticize ourselves so harshly? Our Heavenly Father sees us as beautifully
formed people… no matter what our size, shape, hair, eyes etc…
Yes we need
to take care of ourselves. Too much weight can be a danger to health; eating
right is taking care of the body that God gave us. My brown spots are a concern, because there
is a history of skin cancer in my family, but this is me, and I must see myself
through God’s eyes. I must look in the mirror and see a beautiful work that God
has made… not in a prideful way, but in an accepting way. I accept myself for
who God made me.
And that
goes for other people too. When I look at others, I must see them through God’s
eyes. Not comparing. Not good enough, or better than.
And there’s
another thought to contemplate. OUTWARDLY. We look at the outward beauty far
too often. But what are we inwardly?
1 Peter
3:3-4 “Do not let your adornment be merely
outward- arranging the hair, wearing
gold, or putting on fine apparel- rather let it be the hidden person of the
heart the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very
precious in the sight of God.” (NKJV)
When my
husband and I were first going together I asked him what he found attractive in
me. I didn’t see myself as being attractive and couldn’t figure out what he saw
in me. Yah he liked my hair, but he said it was my character and the way I
cared for others that attracted him. WOW! That blew me away.
And when I
think about very dear friends or family members that I hold in high esteem and
see as beautiful, it is not necessarily the ones that have `the looks’ but the
ones whose character is loving, gentle, caring, godly, and above reproach.
So next
time you're looking in the mirror, putting on your makeup, shaving your legs, plucking
hair, going on a diet, jogging, etc.. remember, these are not the things that
make you beautiful. They make you feel good about yourself, and it’s good to
take care of your body, but they are not the things that define your beauty or
who you are. They are merely outward things.
YOU ARE A
BEAUTIFUL PERSON!
Your
inward-self… your character, the way you treat people, a caring heart… etc… are
what define your true beauty.
And those
brown spots…. Are pretty spots!
S.L. Kliever
