Am I Beautiful?

Every little girl seems to be born with a desire to know she is beautiful. It begins with dress-up clothes, princess costumes, and twirling endlessly in front of the mirror. But as little girls grow into young women, they may give up the pretending and the costumes, but the question always remains in their minds…longing to be answered…”Am I beautiful?” To some extent, this question creates an insatiable appetite for affirmation, and many women have learned the sad consequences that accompany this search to know they are beautiful to someone. So as Christian women, how do we let God be the one to affirm our beauty?

First, we must settle the fact that there is a huge difference between inner and outer beauty. Although we should do our best with what God has given us to work with in regard to outward appearance, this type of beauty is superficial, and will never last. But as we focus on inner beauty, what qualities should we look for? How can I tell if God thinks I am a beautiful woman? Although a beautiful woman consistently displays godly attributes such as the Fruit of the Spirit, I recently discovered some additional descriptions of beauty that I believe are worth contemplating:
· Beauty speaks…and assures others that all will be well.
· Beauty is peaceful and at rest…not anxious.
· Beauty is inviting…it captures you, makes you want to sit down and drink it in, holds your attention.
· Beauty nourishes…a kind of food our soul craves.
· Beauty comforts…and is profoundly healing.
· Beauty inspires…it calls us to something higher.
· Beauty is transcendent…it is our most immediate experience of the eternal. It draws us to God.

This author goes on to state, “Every woman has a beauty to unveil, an essence that is given to her at creation, because she bears the image of God” (from Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge).

Ladies, if there is a beautiful woman in your life…make sure you tell her this week, and be sure to tell her why you find her beautiful. God wants to use you as an instrument of His grace to speak life-changing truth into another woman’s life! What a tragedy it would be for her to go through life never hearing that she is truly beautiful! And I pray that God brings someone into your life to affirm your inner beauty as well.

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. --Proverbs 31:30