Dear Beautiful You…
Lean in a little closer. I have something to tell you….
You are beautiful, just the way you are.
When did the voices inside your head become bigger than the voice inside your heart?
You know the ones. They whisper words like “ugly”, “inadequate”, “never enough”, “unloved”, and “not beautiful”. They are but a whisper, yet they ring loud and clear in your ears and somehow make their way into your heart.
At what point in your life did you begin to believe the lie that you are anything but beautiful?
Perhaps no one ever told you how beautiful you are. How can a young girl look at herself in the mirror and believe that she is beautiful, when no one ever affirmed it in her heart? You’ve lived your entire life with your head down and your heart broken.
But then along came The Rescuer. This One who comes wrapped in light and truth. He brings with Him a love letter, filled with words of love for you. And this One, He calls you beautiful!
Do you believe it? Do you believe that you are beautiful, just as you are, right where you are?
You with the dark circles underneath your eyes,
you are beautiful.
You with the few extra pounds and pants that are a tad too tight,
you are beautiful.
You with the acne scared face and the short eyelashes,
you are beautiful.
You with the unwashed hair and tear stained cheeks,
you are beautiful.
You are beautiful, just as you are.
Do not compare yourself to the woman you pass in the grocery story, or the mom you meet at soccer practice, or the woman you sit next to in church. You have your own unique beauty. No one else compares to you.
Remember the One who came for you? He calls you beautiful, and He does not lie.
“You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.”
(Song of Solomon 4:7)
Take a few moments and linger in that mirror, my friend. Allow Him to remind you today of the beautiful woman that you are.
Counting To See – Beautiful Gifts #21-30
*An espresso bar at work.
*Help with packing our offices.
*Little children who remind you about simplicity.
*Looking back at His faithfulness throughout the years.
*Fresh lemons picked off my tree.
*An extra long hug from a friend.
*God’s healing touch.
*Children who encountered God at Jesus Culture.
*A smooth transition into our new church building.
*My husband’s gentle strength.
Sharing Coffee for Your Heart with Holley Gerth today.
Also linking with these lovely communities:
photo credit: smallestbones via photopin cc
Wonderful post! We should never compare ourselves to others. When I find myself doing so, I give myself a gentle “soul-tap” and remember the One who created me. I love Him and He loves me. I am who I need to be and growing in faith, daily. Thank you, for such a wonderful post! Blessings!
You are beautiful inside and out! Thank you for sharing that beauty!
Love this SO much, Barbie! Thanks for your sweet, encouraging words, always! 🙂
Have a lovely weekend Kelsey!
My first thought was: Ok, but you do not really know me. I am an ugly woman. Idd with short eyelashes, freckles, wrinkles and first gray hair between the rusty brown. Therefore, I am unseen. But reading and reading, your word touches me. I hear God’s voice. Thank you. I remember again: I am precious in his eyes. Not beautiful. But I’m am beginning to believe I am loved and precious. 🙂
Liefs/ warmly
Oh but my friend, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. He says in His Word that you are. I have a hard time believing this as truth too. Let’s take this journey together. You are beautiful!
Barbie,
You have such a beautiful way of pointing us towards our Redeemer. <3
Praying you have a blessed weekend Elizabeth!
Barbie,
Loved your list of gratitude and the reminder that God sees us as beautiful no matter what others may have said to the contrary…blessings to you 🙂
Thanks Dolly!
Everybody already spoke my heart, so i’ll just say beautiful!!
Thank you Lisa, my beautiful friend!
You are beautiful! I need to keep this post close as I make my way to the conference this weekend, and throughout the weekend, as I know I will need this reminder.
Love you,
Beth
I am so excited for you my friend. I cant’ wait to hear about the conference. You are beautiful and such an encouragement to my heart. Such a gift!
Yes, we are all beautiful in God’s eyes. Loved this.
We certainly are! Thanks for stopping by Dayle.
Wonderfully sweet Barbie. That is a great question – when did I start feeling like I didn’t reach the mark? It starts so young with girls.
The other day some women told me they loved my hair pulled back off of my face (with no bangs). I sent a picture of it back to a friend of mine to get her opinion before I decided to get my hair cut. She replied, “You have too high of a forehead. I like the bangs.” She LOVES me and is a dear friend, but her words pierced. I would never tell her that, but where did that whole thing start that people with high foreheads have to hide them — as if it is embarrassing — a flaw?
With the bangs I feel like I am hiding — with them pulled back I felt so naked and exposed. It is so strange. I thought about writing a post about it but I wouldn’t want to hurt her feelings.
Love,
Beth
Oh friend, I’ve been so there. I love my short hair, and for a while people would comment on how they liked me better with longer hair, how it made me look “younger” and “thinner”. Why can’t people keep such comments to themselves? Well, you are beautiful and a beautiful gift to me!
Well, I think THIS post should be on every grocery store check-out aisle! This is just what every one of us needs to hear, and read. Thank you, Barbie, for sharing something so beautiful and true. Blessings to you!
Thanks so much Karin. Praying you’re having a beautiful week!
Some days I believe it, some days I doubt it. How the body of Christ needs to speak it to one another. That the beauty of Christ will be reflected all around. Thank you for speaking it!
Thankful for you Rebekah. Yes, we need to speak more about the beauty that resides in each of us. Blessings!
Dear Barbie
Our Lord looks at us with different eyes than the world and I wish everyone could see themselves the way He sees them. Even if you were the only person that ever walked this earth, Jesus would still have died for you. He just has no favorites! Or I should rather say that every single soul is His favorite.
Blessings XX
Mia
AMEN Mia!
what a sweet word for today!
Praying you’re having a blessed week Jenilee!
Beautiful words from a beautiful heart <3 Thanks for sharing Barbie!
Thanks so much for stopping by Lanette!
This is lovely, Barbie. Thank you. My struggle is in the thought of being unlovable. Not because my heart isn’t soft, but because of being hurt. I think to myself, “Why did this happen? Why doesn’t she love me anymore? What have I done?” But I need to remember that God loves me…and that makes me lovable. And, because of His love for me, He encourages me everyday. This blog post is proof.
Blessings, Joan
Oh friend, I wish I live closer so I could give you a big hug. You are indeed lovable. Nothing will ever change that. Blessings!
The “dark circles” made me smile, Barbie. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror yesterday. With my recent surgery and the things going on with my mom, I feel like life is draining me dry. It’s good to remember that He sees me as beautiful.
Hugs to you 🙂
I’ve been praying for you Susan. Yes, He sees you beautiful. Praying He holds you close and continues to strengthen your heart.
I think you hit the nail on the head: comparison causes our understanding of how God sees us to falter. We must only view ourselves through His eyes! I had to laugh a little when you saw little children and thought “simplicity.” I have little children and the word that comes to my mind is “chaos.” But I totally understand the simplicity of their love and expression of it! Thank you for this post, Barbie!
Oh yes, life with children can be chaotic, but they do show me the simple side of love and beauty. Thankful you stopped by Alisa!
Barbie, thank you for this beautiful post. I have struggled with this very thing most of my life and learned to compensate by having an outgoing personality and a strong sense of humor. Sometimes I have to laugh to keep from crying but I am thankful that through the years, as I have grown in my relationship with Jesus, He has shown me that we all have His beauty in us and we need to let it shine! 🙂
Blessings,
Debby
So thankful you stopped by Debby. I am thankful for the journey of discovering God’s love and beauty. Blessings!
Oooooh – I love this my friend! I love that we both – not surprisingly – quoted from Song of Solomon today as well! Linking up with Holley alongside you!
I cannot think about “beautiful” without being reminded of who it is that calls me beautiful. Love Song of Solomon. Hope you’re having a great week.