This one's for the Girls

I want to talk to all the young girls out there that struggle with their sense of beauty and self worth. I have watched so many girls get ripped apart by the world. We all struggle to hold to the worlds high standards of beauty. Not only does the world rip us apart, we rip ourselves apart. There are two types of beauty that I want to talk about: Artificial and Real.

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Think about the word, Artificial. It kinda gets stuck in mouth and sounds like a can of worms. It's something that isn't real, something that isn't special in any way at all. When you think of the word: Beauty, what do you think of? I googled: Beautiful Woman, and this is what the worlds standards of the word is:

Scanning the pages I quickly realized a theme: the majority of the woman had long, curly, blond hair, fair even toned skin, blue eyes, and wore a size 2 . If you're anything like me, you don't fall into all those categories. We are so easily pressed to want to hold up to the worlds standards. We'll dress the latest styles, wear the latest makeup, and style our hair to the newest trend. Because, we want to feel accepted. We think we have to appear flawless, perfect, whole, just like all the pictures we see in the magazines in the check out isle.

We think we have to appear beautiful all the time, everywhere, everyplace. Why? Cause who knows, there might be a cute guy that notices you when you're in town. But, is it really worth it? That one smile that he might give you, as you blush and quickly turn away, yet hope with all your heart that when you turn around he'll still be there? Yes, Hon, I know what I'm talking about, because I've been that girl hoping to catch the glance of a young man walking by. We do so much to get a little amount of acceptance. This is artificial. It's not real, and there isn't anything special about it.




So. We've talked about artificial beauty now lets talk about Real Beauty.

What is Real Beauty? It seems like the thing of fairy tales, a beautiful romance between prince and princess. Or the fact of the matter, what is a lady? Genuine Femininity, something not many woman know about anymore. It's something of grace and poise, respect for others, love and kindness. It sounds a lot like 1 Corinthians 13:

If I speak in tongues of me or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If i have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains , but do not have love, I am nothing. If i give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship[ that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs. Love do not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protects , always trust, always hope, always perseveres.

Love sounds a lot like something beautiful. Something worth striving for. This is true beauty, girls! If you end up treating people like it says in 1 Cor 13, you will be not only beautiful shinning on the outside, but gloriously shinning on the inside. And that's the side that truly matters.

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There isn't anything wrong with wanting to dress in the latest style and wear makeup, Goodness I do it! If you saw me on an average day I fall into the category of Hipster aka Skinny jeans, converse, and beanie/slouch hat. This is my style though, it's what I feel comfortable in and it's not me trying to gain any self assurance. We can dress in the latest styles but that doesn't mean we have to be pressured into doing it because everyone else is. Be yourselves, be who God made you to be and not what the world tells you to be.

I'm not trying to act like I have it all figured out. God has been bringing this verse back to my mind over and over. Enough for me to get the hint that He not only just wants me to read it, but live it out! If you want to go to a website that talks more about genuine femininity go to: Set Apart Girl Magazine.


Have a blessed week, this is my last week of sanity before I go back to real life aka College and work!

~Rachel