You are beautiful. Please, believe this. You won't believe anything anyone else tells you until you believe this. You are beautiful because God made you that way. Through the precious sacrifice of His Son, God made you holy and righteous in His sight. This is why you are beautiful. This is also why it doesn't matter what the world believes of you. They do not determine your worth. Do you believe you are worthy and beautiful? Do you believe that you are made holy through Christ's death?
I didn't believe this. I was constantly told by the popular beliefs of my sphere of influence that the importance of self-worth was how modestly I dressed. This translated to "how blandly can you dress?". I believed that I was only worthy if I wore things that didn't bring me any attention. This caused me to devalue myself. I was paranoid about what I was wearing, constantly questioning if it was too revealing. I felt like it was a sin to be attractive. I never believed I was beautiful until I received a letter that changed the way I thought about myself.
From an aircraft carrier in the middle of the Pacific ocean my dad wrote me a letter. Near the end he wrote one line: "You are beautiful, don't let anyone else tell you otherwise". Nothing affirms in a young woman her self-worth than one who's family encourages her on the right path. My family never lead me to believe that I wasn't beautiful, but, I listened to the lies of the world. My dad encouraged me to be a meek and humble woman. I started to learn what it was to be a woman, confident in who she was, and confident in her security in Christ. It wasn't about how I looked. It was about my heart. Did I dress a certain way to draw attention to myself? Or did I dress in a certain way to bring glory to God?
I've come to the conclusion that the way I dress can be attractive and fashionable. I don't have to wear layers or baggy clothes to prove I was modest. I still get it wrong and am still working out the best guidelines. But there is one thing for sure. I never want my daughters to grow up without confidence in their self-worth. I want their positions on modesty to be determined by the biblical standards laid out for a godly woman. I want them to have confidence in God's work in their lives.
God has made me the way I am, in physical nature and spiritual nature. I am confident because God has made me and redeemed me. Not because of what I have done or what the world believes of me. I am beautiful. I am made in His image.
I didn't believe this. I was constantly told by the popular beliefs of my sphere of influence that the importance of self-worth was how modestly I dressed. This translated to "how blandly can you dress?". I believed that I was only worthy if I wore things that didn't bring me any attention. This caused me to devalue myself. I was paranoid about what I was wearing, constantly questioning if it was too revealing. I felt like it was a sin to be attractive. I never believed I was beautiful until I received a letter that changed the way I thought about myself.
From an aircraft carrier in the middle of the Pacific ocean my dad wrote me a letter. Near the end he wrote one line: "You are beautiful, don't let anyone else tell you otherwise". Nothing affirms in a young woman her self-worth than one who's family encourages her on the right path. My family never lead me to believe that I wasn't beautiful, but, I listened to the lies of the world. My dad encouraged me to be a meek and humble woman. I started to learn what it was to be a woman, confident in who she was, and confident in her security in Christ. It wasn't about how I looked. It was about my heart. Did I dress a certain way to draw attention to myself? Or did I dress in a certain way to bring glory to God?
I've come to the conclusion that the way I dress can be attractive and fashionable. I don't have to wear layers or baggy clothes to prove I was modest. I still get it wrong and am still working out the best guidelines. But there is one thing for sure. I never want my daughters to grow up without confidence in their self-worth. I want their positions on modesty to be determined by the biblical standards laid out for a godly woman. I want them to have confidence in God's work in their lives.
God has made me the way I am, in physical nature and spiritual nature. I am confident because God has made me and redeemed me. Not because of what I have done or what the world believes of me. I am beautiful. I am made in His image.