Through the looking glass

What is true beauty?

In a world that pushes the agenda of outer appearance, one could be quite confused as to what true beauty is. Peer pressure says "wear this" or "buy that". Magazines say, "lose weight for bikini season, guys like girls who are fit and trim." and "got love handles? Don't stress! Your man likes your curves, gives him more to love." With so many mixed

messages, it's no wonder so many girls have image issues!

A girl wakes up in the morning, looks at her reflection in the mirror and see's an average human being with nothing special about her. She thinks she's either too skinny, too fat, too tall, too short, her legs are either chunky or toothpick like, same with her arms. She wishes her eye color was chocolaty brown or crystal blue or a forest green, of course hazel is pretty too, I mean haven't you ever heard Kelley Clarkson's "Behind these hazel eyes"? There's no rest for the discontent. As she continues to examine herself, her hair is always either too straight, too curly, too wavy, too poofy, too thin, too thick, too blonde, too brown, too red... Get the picture?

One minute a girl thinks she needs to look like a stick thin model from a runway. The next she thinks she should follow the trends and look like a skater punk even though she couldn't skate to save her life. What's worse is that a lot of girls rely on what guys think of them as to whether or not they are actually attractive. A comment made YEARS ago about a girls appearance from a guy can still be a huge impact on how she looks at herself today.

So amidst all the confusion, image problems and low self-esteem, here lies the ultimate question.

What is the perfect look?

Is it the tall, skinny models you see on the cover of magazines? Is it the curvy, bronzed skinned beauties that lay out on the sandy beaches? Nope, neither.

It's like photography. I can look at a tree, and all I see is tree. It's got a brown tree trunk, green leaves (depending on the time of season), and lots of branches spreading all over the place. When I take a picture of this tree, you see what I see. You're looking through my eyes. But if someone else comes along and looks at the same tree that I'm looking at, they might see something entirely different. It's obviously still a tree, but suddenly the tree come to life because the sun is dancing through the leaves. Through their eyes, you see an entirely different tree then mine. It's the same tree, it's just been beheld through a different pair of eyes. Their picture and my picture are different.

Translation? There is no perfect look. We are all unique. And every guys opinion of how we look is going to be different. There is no perfect recipe for a beautiful person, beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder. Luckily the only person's opinion that actually counts is God's. And he beholds us as beautiful. Whether you like it or not, he's made you exactly the way he wants you. You will ALWAYS find something about yourself that you don't like. And you will ALWAYS find something about someone else that you DO like. Regardless, the important part is to remember that God likes how you look right now. God doesn't create junk. He creates pieces of art. So yes, maybe you will never look like the model on the cover of a magazine, but if you did, you would be changing God's original masterpiece. And you wouldn't exactly be "original" anymore, would you? Why look like someone else? There's only one of you. No one wants to go to an art show and only see pictures of the "Mona Lisa". How boring would that be? Remember, variety is the spice of life.

In my humble opinion there is no such thing as "average". If we are all made as works of art, then "average" is definitely the wrong word.

A girl wakes up in the morning, looks in the mirror and see's a unique (not weird) piece of artwork that has been handcrafted by a wonderful maker who puts a lot of care and consideration into his work. She knows that the most important person in her entire life thinks she is beautiful.

"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; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast the sum of them! ... Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:13-17&23-24


Girls, do you have any questions about beauty? TTY: via facebook or comment on this article. No question is a stupid question.

**Just for guys**: In a way, this article is about you too. A) Remember to treat all women with respect because in God's eyes we are all masterpieces. B) Never feel inferior because of YOUR looks, because God made you as a masterpiece too!

*Written by Shawna A.