Beauty's Perception

This is a thought that I shared today at BCM lunch that I would really like to expand on.

A lie that many college students, young women in particular, believe is: "I'm more beautiful now than I'll ever be."

Hallelujah for the young years in our lives, they are a time of growth, exploration, and for many the peek of physical fitness and good looks. Our culture tells us that young people are to be highly valued, and anyone who is not young, but looks young is doing something right. We love our youth, and we love our beauty. I think this belief lead to the "I don't want to grow up" phenomenon.

So, many people don't grow up. They live a life just trying to grasp on to the youth they once had instead of fully engaging the present. Besides that some people go to the extreme and refuse to dress like a grown up. You know those people you see who are like 40, but they wear the same clothes as the 19 year old students I see every day. It's just so awkward. Often times, that is a person who is grasping onto youth and trying to appear "young." (Not to step on any stylish toes, but I must say it).

The truth is that as we follow Christ, we mature and many of our perceptions of the world evolve. As we know Him more, our perception of what beauty is evolves.

For example:

This picture is me at age 16. At this point in my life, I diligently chased being as thin as I could and still eat some amount of food (certainly not enough). My perception of beauty was that I had to be thin and if my collar bone didn't stick out 2 inches, I was not thin enough.

As I matured (and got hungry) I realized that God did not make my body to be stick thin. Some of us are meant to be more curvy than others, and that is okay. As I found my value in Christ I found more value in the way my body looked, and actually became more satisfied with the way I looked. 

The truth is the older we get, the more our body deteriorates. We won't always look 20, and that's okay because God made us this way. While at 20 your body looks great, your mind and heart have a long way to go. 

Also, as we grow and mature in the Lord, our perception of what is beautiful changes. I am a married woman now, and I think that having a godly marriage is absolutely beautiful and I'm doing a lot more to work toward that than physical beauty, and I believe the Lord approves. When I get older and have children I imagine that my family unit will be absolutely beautiful. (I'm already tearing up thinking about it).

My prayer is that we can grasp on to what the Lord sees as beautiful in a person, and that is when we grasp onto God and seek him with all we are. 

Proverbs 31:30 Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

I want to leave a legacy of love from the Lord. Let everything we do be beautiful in his eyes!