Just Say I’m Beautiful

J

1 Samuel 16:7 (The Message)

“But God told Samuel, “Looks aren’t everything.  Don’t be impressed with his looks and stature. I’ve already eliminated him. God judges persons differently than humans do  Men and women look at the face; God looks into the heart.”

Man O man, this hits to the gut for me.  I grew up a smidge, let’s just say, thicker than the other girls.  Totally wasn’t overweight (although I felt like it) or anything like that, just bigger than the rest. So I was the one that when we would go to group parties or out together, all boys would flock to my friends flirting and I’d be like, Hey, whats up, I’m just gonna hold this wall up quick while you guys chat. Totally playing it cool while my gut wanted to explode.  Don’t get me wrong, boys would talk to me cuz you know why? Wait for it…..Heather, you are so funny! Heather…….you have such a kind heart! Heather……you sing amazing and I’d so love to have that talent! Raise your hand if you’ve heard all those one liners before right? (Maybe not the singing one but you get where I’m going) Gosh, I just wanted someone to walk over and say…..Heather, You’re so beautiful!

So when God says, ‘Looks aren’t everything’, I want to be like, try telling Heather that while growing up.  She’d probably punch you in the face! But now, It’s the last part of the verse that I’m resting in. God looks at us completely different than humans do.  At first I’m like, great, here we go, another ‘you’ve got a good heart’ line here even in the Bible. Not so much though. Beauty really does radiate from the inside out. When I look back, although I was never chosen (I thought) for my beauty, I was the one that every boy AND  girl, for that matter, ran too in the end. They knew that what lived inside of me wouldn’t disappoint. They knew beauty on the outside only lasted for so long and didn’t sustain anything real. It took me till I was an adult to realize that THIS was beauty. There’s a reason God lives INSIDE of us, that His spirit dwells within so that our beauty can shine.  I still have my moments, although having pink hair and tattoos does make me look cooler than before, but I now see how beauty is suppose to truly exist.

What defines beauty for you? Do you look at it from a human perspective or God’s? It’s so easy to fall into what the world sees.  We are surrounded by it everywhere but if we can just sit back and grasp that the only one who truly matters is Christ. That Him living in you and you being you will radiate such beauty, people will be lined up at the door to hang by you!

“Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.”