Beauty - It's Only Skin Deep

In the past, I had a blog with a friend of mine called Beautiful in Christ. That blog has long since been put on hold since neither Kylie or I have time to sit down and write regular posts for it. We had good intentions of turning it into a small magazine with articles and posts from many great teenage and young adult writers, but it just never came to be.

But I still have a heart for teenage girls and the hardships that they have to face in this day and age. I was in pubic school for only a few years, and I wasn't necessarily "bullied", but the girls were very petty - even in 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades.

I hated almost every minute of my public school years, and I can't imagine what high school would've been like had my mother not pulled me out of public school and back into our home.

But, even though I was homeschooled, there were still pressures to be "beautiful". And beautiful, by definition of Hollywood is: perfect skin, perfect body, perfect clothes.

But like the title says, beauty is only skin deep. Real beauty radiates from the inside out, not the other way around. Someone can have a beautiful face, but their heart and soul could be as cold as stone and as black as ashes.

Whereas, real beauty - beauty through Christ - comes from the inside and shines through to the outside.

1 Peter 3:3-4 says: Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God sight. 

Wow, that's powerful, isn't it?

Sure, we love nice clothes and beautiful jewelry and cool hairstyles. But it's not only about that, and that doesn't make us beautiful. Sure, it makes us feel that way, maybe.  

But here's the reality: It doesn't last. Fashion changes, hairstyles change. Nothing is constant - except beauty that comes from Christ and trusting in Him always and forever.

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

So, hold your head high today. Don't listen to what the mirror is trying to tell you - it's all lies. You are beautiful in Christ, and no one can ever change that as long as you hold onto Him, and keep your eyes set on Him.

Oh, and I want to share what I have on my mirror to remind myself of this daily, since I tend to look down on myself for one reason or another:

The world may say that you're not pretty enough, you're not skinny enough, you don't wear the right clothes.

But God says: You're beautiful.