Beauty Standards Do Not Change

I am beautiful.

That statement still makes me very uncomfortable. Saying “I am beautiful” is a hard thing to do sometimes. I am 100% positive that there isn’t a single woman who loves everything about their body. It isn’t possible. Our bodies can never be up to the current standard (Mostly because the current standard of beauty is photoshopped). I never felt thin enough and I thought that was the problem. My thin friends always wished they were curvier. My curvy friends always wished they were more fit. My fit friends always wished they were more feminine. No one was ever happy with their body.

Ever since I started High School I have been on a mission to love my body and myself. I decided that no matter what you think about me with or without makeup, dressed up or pjs, under any circumstance, I would think “I am beautiful.” Beauty after all is an inside-out thing. I think we can all agree on that. And with that logic, I am beautiful because I am working towards the beauty standards that, you guessed it, God has lined out for us.

Comparing myself to God’s beauty standards was the only way I could find peace. When I approached my self-analysis by searching my heart first I could finally be satisfied. I’m sure you have all heard of a “Proverbs 31 Woman”. This chapter is about the characteristics of a noble woman. This is kind of my go-to when I am asking “what is beautiful even supposed to mean?” A noble woman, according to Proverbs, is hard working, strong, God-fearing, wise, and virtuous. When I read that I could finally say, “Oh, I am beautiful.” The chapter even says that charm and beauty will fade but a woman who respects God will be deeply admired. When I am at my “worst” and at my “best” I will always be loved because I love God.

As far as outward beauty, it shouldn’t be a question. We were all made in the image of God. When I start to feel down about my body I just remind myself that it is a reflection of God. It is a lot harder to complain about what you look like when you start to see yourself from his perspective. Just a glimpse of how much He loves me is enough to make me want to take a nap and run a marathon at the same time. It is a lot easier to find the beauty in everything around me when I remember the creator and how much He loves his creation.

So you see, the only standard for beauty that actually matters has never changed. Loving yourself becomes a whole lot easier when you love God first. There is equality, unity, and peace in the beauty standards that God has provided for us. It takes a long time to find peace about beauty, in fact I still seek peace every day, but trust me, it is totally worth it.

-Halle

Making Plans

Looking at Senior Prom pictures from my hometown this week has reminded me of just how different my life is from what I thought it would be. Things have changed a lot since I was your classmate, old friends.

This young lady had no idea that she would start home schooling that year. That she would lose friends or that she would make new ones. She had no idea that Aeropostale wouldn’t be as cool when she was graduating as it was when she rocked those plaid Bermuda shorts. She wanted to be a stay at home mom when she grew up. She longed to drive a minivan and maybe teach preschool on the side. She had never made a bad grade. She dreamed of leading worship at her church. She didn’t know that one day she would find a new church home and then find it again. Her best friends were the same ones she had most of her life. If she had it her way nothing would ever change. She was afraid of change because she didn’t really understand it.

This young lady has a whole new dream. She has all new friends. She loves starting over. She welcomes new and change. She prays for the will of God in her life. She is learning to seek him. She still wants to be a mom and drive a minivan but she also wants to connect businesses with communities through public relations. She is still very young and surely she will laugh at the plan she has today in a few short years. She is going to college. She goes to a church where she can serve and be served. She doesn’t lead worship anymore but she leads in a whole new way she could have never dreamed of as a small group leader for 7th grade girls. She lives a life she could have never dreamed of.

My life is very different from what I thought it would be going into 6th grade. That shouldn’t be surprising, but yet in some ways it is. The plans we have are only guaranteed to change. Since 6th grade I have learned that the best plan is to ask for God’s plan. It is what got me here, in this city, at this church, with these people, and this school. It is what made me who I am today and I think I really like that person.

When we talked about this on Sunday, I really got to thinking about middle school and how my girls can prepare for the life ahead of them. After thinking I decided that you really can’t prepare. All you can do is pray guys. God knows your desires, the ones you will have today and the ones you will have tomorrow. If you are asking for his will, then I promise, the plan you will be given will be one that you will be very satisfied to look back on. By the time you are old and weird like me, you will be really glad you asked God for his will.

-Halle