Beauty's Secret:
"The essence of a woman is Beauty. She is meant to be the incarnation -- our experience in human form -- of a Captivating God. A God who invites us." John and Staci Eldredge
Think of a beautiful woman in your life. Someone that you know; who comes to mind?
The women that come to my mind all have different physical attributes, different ages, different "styles", extremely different personalities, and yet they all have something in common.
I wonder if it's the same for the women that came to your mind's eye?
Which one of you women readers long to be beautiful? I bet every one of you wish to be. At least to someone, if not to everyone around us. A lot of us have felt shame or remorse for having failed to be beautiful.
Some women are stereotypical in beauty and are "model worthy". But the women that I know to be captivating, inspiring, and essentially beautiful are not Hollywood worthy.
This is because beauty is unveiled when a woman is at peace with who she is and how she is. When she accepts herself as the person God created her to be.
Beauty is unattainable because it's not something to achieve. It cannot be forced.
Every woman has beauty. It's innate; a part of our nature. A trait from being made in His image.
One young woman I know who is shy and has suffered trauma most of her life, is absolutely captivating when she allows her guard down and smiles. She is transformed, even physically, into the maiden God sees her as.
There is another woman I know who is in no-wise a "head-turner" in the world's view of beauty, but she is so at home with her own self, so confident in who she is, so in love with her husband and children, she radiates beauty.
My first reaction to beauty's secret is: "Aw, I should work on being more confident in myself." But how silly! I would be falling into the trap of "attainable beauty" again.
Instead if I could simply strive to acknowledge His view of me and believe Him, beauty will automatically be a result. I don't have to try to be beautiful. To Christ I already am. You are too.
Have you ever accepted how He sees you? Have you ever striven to acknowledge His way of wooing you? To fall in love with Someone who loves you unconditionally is a thrilling thing! And you feel star-struck. You act and look it too.
Have you ever allowed your guard down? Are you allowing yourself to be who you are with others? Have you ever acknowledged your faults and let go of shame? Faced fears? These are often the result of accepting His view of us? And it's healthy and allows us to radiate who we really are -- a captivating maiden of Christ.
We don't have to work at beauty. We don't have to worry what other's think or see in us. He already sees the real you. He has grace right now and the ability to see who we will become. He is forever molding us into His vessels. Continually changing us to be who we were created to be: us. He isn't planning on making us into somebody else. Just more and more into the Christ-like daughter He already sits with in heavenly places.
When we hid we sub-consciously encourage others around us to hide as well. We're fake so every around us falls into the masquerade. When I'm myself I invite others to be themselves. I'm sharing me and they feel safe to share themselves.
By embracing my worth I put value on their's. Others now can open up, share, bleed, trust. And I learn and heal and help and am used and benefited. And they are too.
It does take courage. It is vulnerable. It does take time.
The blind man from Bethsaida needed Christ to touch him twice. Namman dipped 7 times. . Peter was encouraged to obey three times. It might take a little getting used to -- being ourselves. Noticing how God sees us. Trusting Him, asking Him to show how much He loves us in specific personal ways. He wants to! He waits to be asked.
What we can "do" has little bearing on our worth. God could take away our physical abilities and our talents and He would view us the same way. And why? Because He loves who we are, and who we are has absolutely nothing to do with what we can do. We were made in the image of God with a unique personality that cannot be infringed upon by our abilities. Our abilities are simply outlets to allow Him to be beautiful through us.
We women have a huge influence in the people around us. To our parents, siblings, friends, the lost, the neighbors, the children of our church... Eve was created with the purpose to be a helpmeet, to be enjoyed and appreciated and inspiring to the man God placed her with. Who are the men in our lives? Are we meant to help and inspire them? We can't possibly fulfill our purpose as women if we can't accept who God meant us to be. When Jesus fulfills our need to be wanted and needed and loved, we can then confidently give to others of ourselves.
Beauty's secret: Acknowledge how your God really sees you.
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