Beautiful...what defines beauty? Who defines it? Everyone has their own definition, their own idea of what beauty is. Songs have been sung, books written, pictures painted as individuals strive to define beauty. Each person perceives beauty differently.
Unfortunately, the idea of beauty most of us cling to is a beauty tainted by cultural influence. Much of our perception of what is beautiful comes from Hollywood and the movie industry, the music industry, from celebrity magazines and glamorous advertisements. These influences tell us that beauty is in the color of your hair, the smoothness of your skin, your height, your weight, your teeth, your clothes...the list goes on and on!
What girl hasn't looked at a picture in a magazine, or a movie star in a movie and compared herself to the image presented there? What girl hasn't, at least once in her life, thought, "I wish I looked like that...she is so beautiful!!" or, "I love her hair/skin/eyes/smile and wish I were that beautiful!!" I'm pretty sure that if we were honest, every one of us would agree that we've thought something similar to that...at least once :-)
The question is why? Why do we look for beauty everywhere, and why do we longingly hope and strive to be more beautiful ourselves? I believe it is because God built beauty into our souls. God created millions of lovely things: from light refracting through droplets of water to create a rainbow to the perfect curve of a rosebud's petals, from snow-capped mountains to the song of a morning lark, from brilliant sunsets to sparkling gemstones--God surrounded us with beauty. Then, He made us and wrote "beautiful" on our souls and said that it was a good thing!
So then, let us redefine beautiful as something from God, something that is good and perfect! We desire to be beautiful because God made us that way, not because there is something wrong with us or something missing from our lives. With that in mind, what is beauty, really? It's not the external things we do to pretty ourselves up, but an attitude we live out from our hearts. A beautiful woman is not one who is well dressed and well made-up...a beautiful woman is one who has beauty in her soul and lets it shine out from the inside!!
So go out and be beautiful as no other person can be!! Share the internal stamp of beauty that God created into your heart and your soul, and live it out where everyone can see it!
