To the Girl Who Does Not Feel Beautiful Enough
Written by: Shakira Dinkins Delight & be, Writer
It’s almost back to school time, and the best part of getting ready to go back to school is shopping! School supply shopping is my favorite – clothes, not so much. I mean, I love getting a new outfit as much as the next girl, but then I remember that I have to try on new clothes to see if they fit and shopping doesn’t seem so exciting anymore. I get paralyzed by fear that they won’t fit, that I am too much and not just right. If they do fit, I breathe a sigh of relief, but when they don’t my whole day is ruined and my confidence dashed. My whole life I have struggled with my self-esteem and my weight. In my mind, my weight determined whether or not I was beautiful. Thus when I lost some weight I felt better and loved the compliments I received, and when I gained and the compliments ceased I felt awful.
This past weekend I was praying for God to help my self-esteem, so that I can feel beautiful. And this is what He said. “You are already beautiful, because I created you that way. You do not have to work to be beautiful, you do not have to strive to be beautiful. You already are.” When He said that, it all clicked for me (Isn’t it amazing how God works?!); neither my beauty nor identity are defined by my weight, but by what He says about me. You and I do not have to work to be beautiful, but we will have to fight to believe we already are beautiful. The enemy will do anything to keep us from believing the truth, but we have to fight for the truth, because it sets us free (John 8:32). Our attempts to feel beautiful will never be enough and will leave us feeling empty. But there is one person, who calls us fearfully and wonderfully made, beautiful, redeemed, precious, forgiven, chosen, accepted, and loved, and His name is Jesus. This is something that you don’t believe one time and then you magically feel beautiful; it’s something that you have to believe all the time, every day. I have to constantly remind myself of the truth whether it’s through saying it out loud, praising God for the way He created me, or listening to songs that tell me this. Beauty is not defined by what society or others say, but by what God says. Beauty is not just on the outside but on the inside as well, and the inside is more important to God than the outside. Go in confidence, knowing that you are already beautiful and that you don’t need makeup, new clothes, or a fad diet to feel beautiful.
If you want to throw on that new shade of lipstick that’s cool, if you want to buy that cute top from Forever 21 that’s cool as well, and if you want to make a healthy lifestyle change by trying to get healthy that’s cool too. The point is to do these things knowing and believing that you are already beautiful and that you do not need these things to determine your beauty. Rest in the beauty that you are the daughter of the King.
PC: Hosanna Joleen
