Over the years I’ve had a love hate relationship with a “polished piece of metal”. . . yep, the mirror! It started out as my childhood friend. We were great pals -bosom buddies some might say. Like every little girl, I used it to admire myself when I dressed up as a princess, dreaming of the beautiful woman that I wanted to be one day. But around the time I turned 14, I started struggling with acne and the “loving dreamy” aspect of the mirror left.  Now, looking into it, the object that once helped me to dream, only seemed to criticize me, point out my every flaw, and scream at me with reasons of why I would never be the beautiful woman I dreamed of becoming.

Can you relate at all?!  Maybe your struggle isn’t keeping a clear complexion, maybe it’s your weight, your teeth, your height. Whatever it is, I think it’s safe to say we have all struggled, to some degree, with Self Image. We live in a world that’s obsessed with it!  Every day we are bombarded with images from the media of airbrushed flawless girls.  Magazines tell us the top 10 beauty tips, the fastest way to get “fabulous abs” and a great beach body. In a world where we are encouraged -almost expected- to look perfect, it’s no wonder we often become so consumed with the picture of who we ’should be.’  We end up despising the girl we see in the mirror.

I don’t know about you, but the idea of living up to a standard of flawless perfection overwhelms me!!!  So, I decided to GIVE UP… don’t worry, I still practise personal hygiene and put effort into getting myself ready for the day!  But I no longer let the mirror define who I am. In the middle of my struggle, the Lord showed me His heart. A heart that said “I value your life and what’s inside of you, more then what you see in the mirror.” (1Pet. 3:4)  A heart that told me He created me with precision and purpose (Ps. 139:13). A heart that said I was beautiful in His sight. (Ps. 45:11) This became my focus. It gave me a new standard to live up to. Believe me, I still have days when I’m not completely satisfied with the girl I see in the mirror..as we all will. Despite how we fail to measure up to the standard of beauty the world -and we ourselves- set for us, God still considers us His masterpiece.

Inside every woman is a desire to be beautiful. I think we can all agree on that.  But what really defines beauty?  It’s time for us as daughter’s of God to let go of the lies the world has spoken over us. My prayer is that we will come to a place where we are so saturated with the truth of who God says we are.  That we can look at the mirror and say “You don’t define me” and know what really does.

Love,  Jess