I hope the title of the blog has got you thinking and asking questions straight away.
Beauty is something that is subjective, yet very much idolised in our society. As women, we are fed images of impossibly perfect women, who we are led to believe never have a bad hair day or worry about the shape of their hips, arms, legs, or whatever part of your body you struggle to like.
I have been on a journey myself with the issue. My Grandma is incredibly 'girlie', for want of a better word, in that she loves to wear makeup and look nice and how she looks is a big deal. My mum is the opposite - she does care about how she looks, but she hardly ever wears makeup and is just not fussed either way. Seeing the contrast growing up was interesting to observe. As a teenager, I went through a stage of wearing makeup. I listened as friends talked about how many spots they had and how they couldn't possibly be seen outside the house without some mascara on. It didn't sit right with me but all the same, I started to wear makeup most days.
One time, I was at a Christian Youth event and had ended up crying a lot (when the Holy Spirit comes on me I end up weeping) and my face was covered in black smudges from the makeup. I was a mess. As I voiced this aloud, one of my guy friends said to me, "Why do you wear it all the time anyway? To impress a boy? It shouldn't matter and you really don't need to wear it".
I felt challenged by this. I didn't need to wear it every day and, actually, I knew I didn't want to end up like my friends who couldn't cope if anyone saw them without makeup, so from that day I stopped wearing it every day. It was incredibly liberating to not feel the pressure of having to wear makeup every day. I didn't stop wearing makeup altogether; I wore it for special occasions, which I loved. What surprised me the most was that people noticed. I remember going to our Youth Group Christmas party and someone saying to me "You look different - in a really nice way but I can't figure out why". It was a lovely feeling for people to acknowledge that I had made an effort.
Skip forward a few years and I'm still only a 'wear makeup for special occasions' kind of girlie, which I still am today. And I am dating a guy who likes the fact I don't wear makeup and finds it refreshing that I feel confident enough in my own skin to not need to wear it. Great! Success! But then, he also doesn't like it when I do wear makeup for special occasions and, in fact, comments that he prefers me without. Hmm, not so cool. It's fair to say that the relationship focussed on my physical appearance, rather than who I was as a person, and it tainted my views on the whole concept and idea of being beautiful.
Without being fully aware of the shift in my mentality, I struggled with the idea of making myself look beautiful. I really didn't want a guy to only be interested in me for how I looked, so I shied away from making too much effort with my physical appearance. Don't get me wrong, I didn't go around deliberately looking scruffy, but neither did I take pride or care in my appearance.
In some ways, it was quite liberating. "Well if people are only interested in me because I look or dress a certain way, then they aren't worth it" was one of many thoughts/justifications that crossed my mind. But in reality, I didn't feel good enough or worthy enough to look beautiful. I was operating from a place of insecurity, rather than walking confidently in my identity as a daughter of the King.
I felt the Lord challenging and prompting me on the issue but continued to ignore the niggles. I choose to stay in my comfort zone of 'I don't need to bother because I'm not worth it anyway'. It is crazy how something that, on the surface, seems harmless can be twisted by the enemy to become an ugly lie he entangles us in.
But the Lord's heart is always for us. He longs for us to know who we are in Him and to walk with our heads held high as sons and daughters of God. His heart is always for us to know greater freedom in our lives. I knew my thinking wasn't right around the area, but equally didn't know how to shift it.
Fast forward to this year and my upcoming wedding season (see previous blog post)... I knew I wanted to wear makeup but I was also aware that I only wore the bear minimum. As it happened, one of my girlies loves this kind of thing. She is artistic and creative and makeup is her way of expressing this beautifully. So I messaged her and asked if she would do my make up and teach me how to do it well. Little did I know the impact this would have.
From initial reactions of angst and embarrassment that I didn't know what I was doing or that I didn't own the right makeup, I learned to embrace my inner girlie and I loved it. I learned to value myself and know that I was worthy enough to glam up and look beautiful. And not because I wanted to impress a guy, but because I wanted to look and feel confident in my physical appearance for me. It was, and still is, a beautiful journey and I have felt the Lord's delight over me as I have taken delight in how He created me. He knitted me together in my mother's womb (Psalm 139). As Genesis states, we are made in the image of God.
As I have journeyed this and shared this with other women around me, the important thing I have noticed is that this isn't a one-size-fits-all concept. Unlike me, you may love to wear makeup every day and don't feel that it curtails your freedom and confidence in Christ. That is just as okay as those of you who don't wear makeup at all or maybe have felt challenged by my thoughts on the subject. For me, it is a heart issue when thinking about and celebrating our physical beauty.
We need to consider our motivations and check that we are operating from a place of knowing our identity as daughters of God, not to gain attention specifically from the opposite sex. Physical beauty is celebrated throughout scripture (just read Song of Songs if you don't believe me). But we need to ensure it doesn't become an idol and that it ultimately points back to the glory of God, as we walk out being His perfect craftsmanship.
Enjoy being the beautiful 'you' He made you to be - there is no one else quite like it ♥️
Beauty is something that is subjective, yet very much idolised in our society. As women, we are fed images of impossibly perfect women, who we are led to believe never have a bad hair day or worry about the shape of their hips, arms, legs, or whatever part of your body you struggle to like.
I have been on a journey myself with the issue. My Grandma is incredibly 'girlie', for want of a better word, in that she loves to wear makeup and look nice and how she looks is a big deal. My mum is the opposite - she does care about how she looks, but she hardly ever wears makeup and is just not fussed either way. Seeing the contrast growing up was interesting to observe. As a teenager, I went through a stage of wearing makeup. I listened as friends talked about how many spots they had and how they couldn't possibly be seen outside the house without some mascara on. It didn't sit right with me but all the same, I started to wear makeup most days.
One time, I was at a Christian Youth event and had ended up crying a lot (when the Holy Spirit comes on me I end up weeping) and my face was covered in black smudges from the makeup. I was a mess. As I voiced this aloud, one of my guy friends said to me, "Why do you wear it all the time anyway? To impress a boy? It shouldn't matter and you really don't need to wear it".
I felt challenged by this. I didn't need to wear it every day and, actually, I knew I didn't want to end up like my friends who couldn't cope if anyone saw them without makeup, so from that day I stopped wearing it every day. It was incredibly liberating to not feel the pressure of having to wear makeup every day. I didn't stop wearing makeup altogether; I wore it for special occasions, which I loved. What surprised me the most was that people noticed. I remember going to our Youth Group Christmas party and someone saying to me "You look different - in a really nice way but I can't figure out why". It was a lovely feeling for people to acknowledge that I had made an effort.
Skip forward a few years and I'm still only a 'wear makeup for special occasions' kind of girlie, which I still am today. And I am dating a guy who likes the fact I don't wear makeup and finds it refreshing that I feel confident enough in my own skin to not need to wear it. Great! Success! But then, he also doesn't like it when I do wear makeup for special occasions and, in fact, comments that he prefers me without. Hmm, not so cool. It's fair to say that the relationship focussed on my physical appearance, rather than who I was as a person, and it tainted my views on the whole concept and idea of being beautiful.
Without being fully aware of the shift in my mentality, I struggled with the idea of making myself look beautiful. I really didn't want a guy to only be interested in me for how I looked, so I shied away from making too much effort with my physical appearance. Don't get me wrong, I didn't go around deliberately looking scruffy, but neither did I take pride or care in my appearance.
In some ways, it was quite liberating. "Well if people are only interested in me because I look or dress a certain way, then they aren't worth it" was one of many thoughts/justifications that crossed my mind. But in reality, I didn't feel good enough or worthy enough to look beautiful. I was operating from a place of insecurity, rather than walking confidently in my identity as a daughter of the King.
I felt the Lord challenging and prompting me on the issue but continued to ignore the niggles. I choose to stay in my comfort zone of 'I don't need to bother because I'm not worth it anyway'. It is crazy how something that, on the surface, seems harmless can be twisted by the enemy to become an ugly lie he entangles us in.
But the Lord's heart is always for us. He longs for us to know who we are in Him and to walk with our heads held high as sons and daughters of God. His heart is always for us to know greater freedom in our lives. I knew my thinking wasn't right around the area, but equally didn't know how to shift it.
Fast forward to this year and my upcoming wedding season (see previous blog post)... I knew I wanted to wear makeup but I was also aware that I only wore the bear minimum. As it happened, one of my girlies loves this kind of thing. She is artistic and creative and makeup is her way of expressing this beautifully. So I messaged her and asked if she would do my make up and teach me how to do it well. Little did I know the impact this would have.
From initial reactions of angst and embarrassment that I didn't know what I was doing or that I didn't own the right makeup, I learned to embrace my inner girlie and I loved it. I learned to value myself and know that I was worthy enough to glam up and look beautiful. And not because I wanted to impress a guy, but because I wanted to look and feel confident in my physical appearance for me. It was, and still is, a beautiful journey and I have felt the Lord's delight over me as I have taken delight in how He created me. He knitted me together in my mother's womb (Psalm 139). As Genesis states, we are made in the image of God.
As I have journeyed this and shared this with other women around me, the important thing I have noticed is that this isn't a one-size-fits-all concept. Unlike me, you may love to wear makeup every day and don't feel that it curtails your freedom and confidence in Christ. That is just as okay as those of you who don't wear makeup at all or maybe have felt challenged by my thoughts on the subject. For me, it is a heart issue when thinking about and celebrating our physical beauty.
We need to consider our motivations and check that we are operating from a place of knowing our identity as daughters of God, not to gain attention specifically from the opposite sex. Physical beauty is celebrated throughout scripture (just read Song of Songs if you don't believe me). But we need to ensure it doesn't become an idol and that it ultimately points back to the glory of God, as we walk out being His perfect craftsmanship.
Enjoy being the beautiful 'you' He made you to be - there is no one else quite like it ♥️
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