Over the last couple of months God has been giving me a deeper understanding about true beauty. Having come from a conservative church and background, I grew up being taught that women could not do a lot of things. Like wear makeup or jewelry. Cutting or coloring your hair was a definite no, no and wearing pants was out of the question. I remember growing up thinking that women should not exhibit beauty because that would be wrong and most of all, it would be unholy. But over the years God has helped me to understand that I couldn't be farther from the truth. The truth is what sets us free and anything other than truth leads us to bondage. I believe that it's God's will to unleash the beauty that lies within us all. Over the last couple of months the Lord showed me a few scenarios that spoke profoundly to me heart. I'd like to share them with you.
Working for a pediatric doctor has given me the pleasure of taking pictures of children all day long. Honestly its my favorite part of the job. Several years ago, while on the job, I witnessed a young girl who came in with her mom. Mom definitely did not have motherly approach with her daughter. There were toys in the office and the little girl was excited about them. She wanted to capture her mothers attention and approval. Unfortunately her mother could not be bothered with. She was too caught up in her cell phone. The few times she did respond to her daughter it was annoyance, anger, harsh words, and abrasiveness. I could tell on the little girls face that her moms reaction was hurting her. I felt really bad for this little girl as I thought to myself that the power of life and death are in the tongue. I couldn't help but think of my daughters and how such a response from me would affect them. I silently prayed that God help me to be aware of how I treat them and how I speak to them both in private and in public. That day, the Lord spoke to my heart. He told me "from this day forward, every time you take a picture of a girl, I want you to say take the shot and say 'Beautiful'. Because you never know when was last time if EVER that they have been told they are beautiful." So many girls grow up never hearing from mom or dad that they are beautiful. As a result of not hearing it, they most definitely are not feeling beautiful. The Lord impressed upon my heart that it all starts with mom and dad. They have to hear it from us first! If we are not telling them they are beautiful then you can be assured that there is an enemy who will gladly step in and convince them they are not. I know tell every girl I take a picture of, big or small, that they are beautiful. I have noticed that every single girl will smile and every single mom that hears me refer to their daughter as beautiful, smiles with delight and great pride in their princess.
Working for a pediatric doctor has given me the pleasure of taking pictures of children all day long. Honestly its my favorite part of the job. Several years ago, while on the job, I witnessed a young girl who came in with her mom. Mom definitely did not have motherly approach with her daughter. There were toys in the office and the little girl was excited about them. She wanted to capture her mothers attention and approval. Unfortunately her mother could not be bothered with. She was too caught up in her cell phone. The few times she did respond to her daughter it was annoyance, anger, harsh words, and abrasiveness. I could tell on the little girls face that her moms reaction was hurting her. I felt really bad for this little girl as I thought to myself that the power of life and death are in the tongue. I couldn't help but think of my daughters and how such a response from me would affect them. I silently prayed that God help me to be aware of how I treat them and how I speak to them both in private and in public. That day, the Lord spoke to my heart. He told me "from this day forward, every time you take a picture of a girl, I want you to say take the shot and say 'Beautiful'. Because you never know when was last time if EVER that they have been told they are beautiful." So many girls grow up never hearing from mom or dad that they are beautiful. As a result of not hearing it, they most definitely are not feeling beautiful. The Lord impressed upon my heart that it all starts with mom and dad. They have to hear it from us first! If we are not telling them they are beautiful then you can be assured that there is an enemy who will gladly step in and convince them they are not. I know tell every girl I take a picture of, big or small, that they are beautiful. I have noticed that every single girl will smile and every single mom that hears me refer to their daughter as beautiful, smiles with delight and great pride in their princess.
Today, I had the privilege of taking the picture of a 5 year old beauty. To my surprise, she was wearing a light pink lip color. As I prepared to take her picture, she gave me a girly pose with the cheesiest smile ever. I took the shot and exclaimed "beautiful!" She continued giving me a cheesy smile. Then proudly said thank you and joyfully skipped away. Her mom and I both laughed at her at cuteness. Mom then proceeds to say to me "sorry for the pink lipstick". I told her don't apologize for allowing your baby girl to celebrate who and what she is. Don't apologize for allowing her to celebrate being feminine and being the beauty God Created her to be.
About two weeks ago, I had the privilege of witnessing yet another precious event. Our church is full of beautiful little girls. There is one 2 year old beauty in particular who impacted me tremendously. Apparently she loves the guitar player in our church. Two Sunday's ago she saw him come into the sanctuary. She immediately began to call out to him. I loved that he was more than happy to comply to her adorable request for him to play the guitar for her. He began to strum a beautiful melody on his guitar. This precious beauty gently lifts the hem of her skirt and begins to slowly twirl round and round to his music. In that moment, she became a princess in a beautiful flowing dress, dancing to a beautiful ballad. My eyes tear up as I remember this. Because as I watched all of this unfold before me, the Spirit of God reminded me that eternity is been set (written) in our hearts.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 says "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart". Did you know that God has placed an eternal longing in your heart? It is the reason why at the core of every girl is the needs to feel and be beautiful. Its the reason why movies like Cinderella melt our hearts. Its the reason why little girls mimic their moms and put on their lipstick and high heal shoes. Its the reason why little girls love long flowing pink dresses and long tresses of hair and tiaras. Its the reason why we love dressing our homes with flowers and beautiful pictures of family and friends. Its the reason why we love wearing jewelry (The blingier the jewelry, the happier we are!). Its the reason why we long for meaningful long lasting friendships. Its the reason why on our wedding day, we long to be the princess in the perfect dress, capturing the attention of all who are present as we walk down the isle to receive our handsome groom. Its the reason why our hearts long for more and yet we never feel truly complete. Because eternity has been set in our hearts and the fulfillment of the longing in our hearts can only be found in Jesus. Unfortunately many of us spend a lot of time suppressing the beauty that is with us. The enemy of our souls, through trials and adversity and lies has trained us to do just that.
Not only is God beauty in and of itself, he has made everything (including you and I) beautiful. Not only is Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. But He is also our heavenly Bridegroom. (Revelation 19). We have grown so accustomed to only knowing God as Savior, King, and Almighty. That we neglect knowing him as our heavenly Bridegroom. As the One we are betrothed to. We focus on reading scriptures that make reference to his strength, power, and authority. But we skip over the entire book of the Song of Solomon that contains the greatest love story ever told. A romance between a King and his Bride. Between Jesus, the lover of our soul and the Church his beautiful bride. The bible teaches us that there will be a day when there will no longer be pain or suffering. A day when all things will be made new. A day where we will reign in righteousness with the Lamb of God. A day in which Jesus the Lamb of God will receive his Bride the Church (that is you and I) and she will marry the Lamb! But until that glorious day, we will continue to experience an ache. A longing in our hearts. Eternity has been set in our hearts til the day we are reunited with Christ Jesus for all eternity. Today I'd like to encourage you to pursue life from a different perspective. I encourage you to pursue Christ. Not just as your savior and King. But as the lover of your soul. As the one who longs to spend alone time with you in your secret place loving you simply for who you are. As the one who is betrothed (promised/pledged in marriage) to you and who longs deeply for your heart and for your company. He longs to reveal to your just how lovely you truly are to Him.
Maybe its been a while since you bought yourself a beautiful dress or a beautiful pair of shoes. Maybe its been a while since you allowed yourself a chance to go to the salon and get your hair cut or your nails painted. Maybe you are one of those moms who is constantly telling your daughter, she cant wear makeup till she is 18. Maybe you never heard when you were young that you ARE beautiful and now you find it difficult to tell your daughter that she too is beautiful. I want to know that it is OK. It's ok for you to be the beauty God has created you to be. Its OK for you to teach your girls that they are beautiful and that they ARE a princess. Its OK for you to have a make up party with your daughter and teach her how to properly beautify herself in a way that is dignified and in a way that affirms her inner need to know that she is beautiful. It's OK for you to blast some music and dance around the house with your kids and be silly. Its OK to feel like you want more! Jesus is the answer to your more. Determine yourself today to go and discover this wonderful Heavenly Bridegroom that we have. This knight in shinning armor who has already conquered it all for us and who is coming again to take us to a place he has prepared for us. Eternity has been set in your heart. And until that day, we will continue to long for all that is beautiful. We will continue to long for Christ.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 says "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart". Did you know that God has placed an eternal longing in your heart? It is the reason why at the core of every girl is the needs to feel and be beautiful. Its the reason why movies like Cinderella melt our hearts. Its the reason why little girls mimic their moms and put on their lipstick and high heal shoes. Its the reason why little girls love long flowing pink dresses and long tresses of hair and tiaras. Its the reason why we love dressing our homes with flowers and beautiful pictures of family and friends. Its the reason why we love wearing jewelry (The blingier the jewelry, the happier we are!). Its the reason why we long for meaningful long lasting friendships. Its the reason why on our wedding day, we long to be the princess in the perfect dress, capturing the attention of all who are present as we walk down the isle to receive our handsome groom. Its the reason why our hearts long for more and yet we never feel truly complete. Because eternity has been set in our hearts and the fulfillment of the longing in our hearts can only be found in Jesus. Unfortunately many of us spend a lot of time suppressing the beauty that is with us. The enemy of our souls, through trials and adversity and lies has trained us to do just that.
Not only is God beauty in and of itself, he has made everything (including you and I) beautiful. Not only is Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. But He is also our heavenly Bridegroom. (Revelation 19). We have grown so accustomed to only knowing God as Savior, King, and Almighty. That we neglect knowing him as our heavenly Bridegroom. As the One we are betrothed to. We focus on reading scriptures that make reference to his strength, power, and authority. But we skip over the entire book of the Song of Solomon that contains the greatest love story ever told. A romance between a King and his Bride. Between Jesus, the lover of our soul and the Church his beautiful bride. The bible teaches us that there will be a day when there will no longer be pain or suffering. A day when all things will be made new. A day where we will reign in righteousness with the Lamb of God. A day in which Jesus the Lamb of God will receive his Bride the Church (that is you and I) and she will marry the Lamb! But until that glorious day, we will continue to experience an ache. A longing in our hearts. Eternity has been set in our hearts til the day we are reunited with Christ Jesus for all eternity. Today I'd like to encourage you to pursue life from a different perspective. I encourage you to pursue Christ. Not just as your savior and King. But as the lover of your soul. As the one who longs to spend alone time with you in your secret place loving you simply for who you are. As the one who is betrothed (promised/pledged in marriage) to you and who longs deeply for your heart and for your company. He longs to reveal to your just how lovely you truly are to Him.
Maybe its been a while since you bought yourself a beautiful dress or a beautiful pair of shoes. Maybe its been a while since you allowed yourself a chance to go to the salon and get your hair cut or your nails painted. Maybe you are one of those moms who is constantly telling your daughter, she cant wear makeup till she is 18. Maybe you never heard when you were young that you ARE beautiful and now you find it difficult to tell your daughter that she too is beautiful. I want to know that it is OK. It's ok for you to be the beauty God has created you to be. Its OK for you to teach your girls that they are beautiful and that they ARE a princess. Its OK for you to have a make up party with your daughter and teach her how to properly beautify herself in a way that is dignified and in a way that affirms her inner need to know that she is beautiful. It's OK for you to blast some music and dance around the house with your kids and be silly. Its OK to feel like you want more! Jesus is the answer to your more. Determine yourself today to go and discover this wonderful Heavenly Bridegroom that we have. This knight in shinning armor who has already conquered it all for us and who is coming again to take us to a place he has prepared for us. Eternity has been set in your heart. And until that day, we will continue to long for all that is beautiful. We will continue to long for Christ.
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