Feb

18

2011

True Beauty Conversations: Write it on the Doorframes

True Beauty  Posted by / 1 comments

 Julia and I are exploring the meaning of Beauty, intersecting Beauty with the word of God, and letting Beauty live in our lives. Inspired by a joint feeling of just not measuring up in the beauty category, we’re tackling some hard questions:

  • What is Beauty? And does it reside in me?
  • And when my husband says that I’m beautiful, how can I receive those words as truth in a culture that says the opposite?
  • What am I going to teach my daughters about Beauty?
  • And most importantly, what does the Word of God say about Beauty?

Join us as we converse about a topic that touches the heart of all women.
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Dearest Melissa,

You are so right! God’s Beauty dwells in and among us.

It is easy for me to see God when I gaze at the faces of my daughters. I mean, really?! how could you not?!

And your girls?! Just look at those eyes!



It’s even easy for me to see His Beauty in the face of others.

I see Beauty in you, Melissa.
 
               
My struggle is this:
I have the knowledge–that cerebral understanding that God’s Beauty resides in me. For some reason there is a disconnect between what my mind knows, and what my heart hears and believes to be true.
I am discontent with myself and the way I look. I know that God etched those stretch marks on my stomach. That extra skin hangin’ out with the stretch marks? I know He put it there. So, then, I’m discontent with his handiwork. The very handiwork that gave me the blessing of those two girls, who were born healthy at 5 pounds 9 ounces and 6 pounds 13 ounces! You are so right, May it never be!!!
Who am I to dispute God’s creation?
For you created my inmost being; you  knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; ~Psalm 139:13-14a
So–we have ascertained that we shouldn’t feel the way we do. We know our husbands think we are hot. We need to change our thinking. I am convinced that we must spring to action! What I can I do, what can we do, Melissa, to hear and believe that we are beautiful?
My thoughts went to the Old Testament. When the Israelites were given the Ten Commandments, they didn’t have paper to write them on. God instructed them to:

Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. ~Deuteronomy 6:9

Brilliant! I have recently been putting a collage of reminders and affirmations on my kitchen cabinets. I need them in plain view, so that my mind and heart are smacked with their truth, especially in moments of doubt. I most recently hung this (download it here):

This is truth! Truth I need to hear and write on my heart. Truth I want my daughters to see, and to believe.  

God’s beauty resides in me. He knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I hate knitting, it takes forever and it makes my hands hurt. It takes precision and a skill set that I don’t have. God knitted me, he knitted you, Melissa, and he knitted our gorgeous daughters. He didn’t just wave a magic wand, he took the time and precision to make us, and then he called us very good.
We are beautiful, Melissa! When we look in the mirror, we should love what we see.
 

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. ~Genesis 1:31a