To Be Seen As We Truly Are

   

       What is beauty? Take a minute and think about this question. How would you define it?  For me it would be a creation that was well-made, something delicate, mysterious, and intricate. Something like a sparkly, flowing ball gown, or landscape covered with a blanket of pure white snow.  Most likely, our answers were different. We would both agree, however, that neither is the right definition, yet neither is wrong. "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder", is it not?

            

            Then: 

          

             Why do we have a standard of beauty that says what is beautiful and what is not?

                Why do we let fashion, and trends, define us?

           Easier said than done, right? I know. I've been there. Soooo many times. When I go out, I often find myself wearing something that is as close to the current trend as I could find, even if it isn't something that I particularly like. I tend to base my closet off of what I see other people wearing, and not what I love to wear. BUT, I have overlooked one teeny tiny detail: I am not other people. I am something completely different. (My sisters would agree wholeheartedly with that statement :)) So are you.

       

             I love to imitate. I see something cute, and I want to try it myself.  I'm trying to break that habit, but sometimes it's a little scary to jump out there and say "Here I am! This is me." It reminds me of a line from the live-action Cinderella.

            

                  "Was who she was, who she really was, really enough?...This is perhaps the greatest risk any of us will ever take: To be seen as we truly are."

                  The greatest risk I will ever take is to show others who I really am? Truly? That kind of burst my bubble. I've always dreamed of going out there and doing something big, becoming famous, or designing million dollar gowns. (I'm just a tad optimistic :)) How can I do that, or even come close if the only side of me that people see is the side that is carefully shaped and molded to fit into today's trends and styles? How can I reach out to people and tell them that Jesus loves them if I'm so worried about what they will think of my clothes that I pick out my outfits especially for them? 

                

                                                                          I can't. 

                  First, I need to realize that I was created with purpose. God sees me as I am, as I really am, and he loves every part of me. From my frizzy hair, to my pasty skin, to my short little toes. He sees and loves us all.  And though that should be enough, it also helps to remember that even the people who look like 'everybody else', the girl who has that purse, or those friends, or that phone, are just as different from everyone else as you. Maybe she has blurred her unique beauty to match this world, but is that something to be envious of? 

                  

                 

              This is a challenge for you and for me: to be seen as we truly are. Maybe that means wearing those pants that you love, but 'can't' wear to school because they're not 'in'. Maybe that means taking little steps and being 'you' in the safety of your home. (Warning: Your home is not always safe in the sense that you will not be laughed at. There is still that possibility if your siblings are anything like mine.;)) Or, maybe this means something a little deeper, to tell someone who you belong to, who saved you.