My Jesus Journal

Beautiful

                Have you ever worked really hard on something and then you show it to someone and they insult it? Or have you ever worked really hard on a present for someone, and when you give them it they don't love it like you had hoped? You put time and effort into something and you aren't thanked for it, instead your feelings are hurt. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. For so long I hated how I looked, and I hated who I was. I got to the point where I started wearing makeup, but I wore it in hopes that other people would think I looked better, so if they thought I looked better, then that would make me happier. Why do other people's opinions matter so much to us? Why do we have to make ourselves look better for others?

Now, I'm not saying that people only work out, put on makeup, etc. to impress other people. If you like makeup then wear it! If you really like to work out then do it! What I'm saying is, we shouldn't do things if we're only doing it with the intentions to impress other people.

Whenever you feel unloved, unimportant, or insecure, remember to whom you belong. Ephesians 2:19-22

I used to get really insecure. I would find myself looking at other girls and wishing I could be like them...whether it was their hair, their eyes, their smiles, and whatever else. I saw my flaws, and that's what I focused on. When you see yourself, you point out the flaws; they're so easy for you to find because you look for them, you look for imperfections. But the more I thought about it, the less self-conscious I became. Those girls that I wished I could be or look like? They saw their own imperfections; just like I could see mine...I just didn't see their imperfections. While you are trying to change so many things about yourself, I guarantee there are people looking at you, and wishing they could be or look just like you. God made us how he wanted us to be. Our God made the skies, the mountains, so many beautiful things, and YOU are included in that! He didn't make you that girl, because he wanted a YOU! How awesome is that? Who are we to be insecure when we are masterpieces of God's? He made each and every one of us, he created us, WE are his work...if we can find his other work to be so amazing and beautiful, then why can't we view ourselves that way? Don't try to be like everybody else, because you aren't your beautiful self if you're trying to be somebody else...The moment that you're really, truly beautiful, is when you are yourself. Be confident in how God made you!

So what if you aren't winning attention from others? If other people can't see your beauty without makeup then they don't deserve to be in your life. If you're wearing makeup to impress guys then you're not going to find the right one. I strongly believe that, even without my eyeliner, if God has someone planned for me, then that guy isn't going to care whether I'm wearing it or not. He'll find me to be beautiful the way I am.

I challenge you all, whether you are male or female, to love who you are, because you are wonderfully made. I challenge you to wake up in the morning, look at yourself in the mirror and smile, and write down one thing that you like about yourself...and each day add something. I challenge you to love yourself, whether you wear makeup or not. I challenge you to love yourself enough to take care of yourself. Even if you take a sticky note, and write a verse about loving yourself, and stick it to your mirror, I challenge you to love who you are, the way that God made you!

Sorry for this being such a short journal, but I don't really have much else to say without being super repetitive. So, I love you beautiful people, and I hope you love you too.