(my incredible, inspiring, and overall amazing friend Ashley recently invited me to take part in this fantastic campaign called "Overcoming the lie." the general idea is that in sharing our stories of victory over the lies in our lives, we can lead others to freedom over the same lies. I wrote this story a while back and thought it just seemed so very appropriate for the occasion. here it is, with the hopes that our God will use it for His glory and for your freedom.)
I believe that every little girl is born with a deep and ingrained knowledge of a God who sees her as beautiful beyond measure. This is the story of one such girl.
With shining eyes and an open heart, she is thrust into the world. She’s expecting to be enjoyed, cherished, and loved. Instead, she is met with harsh criticism and the insistence that since she doesn’t look, act, or think the way “they” want her to, she is not beautiful. Since she is not beautiful, there is no place for her.
“Unwanted,” the world chants. “Unworthy. Unloved. Ugly. Ugly. Ugly.”
At first, she scoffs. They must be confused. “No,” she laughs. “Beautiful.”
However, with time, the arrows of accusation and rejection start to find their way through the cracks in the wall of her confidence. She tries to shut them out, but the barrage continues and intensifies until she can’t hold up against it anymore.
The wall falls down around her. She takes a timid step out.
“…Ugly?” she asks.
“Ugly! Ugly! Ugly!!”
The weight of the world's judgment falls onto her shoulders. Downtrodden, but still hopeful, she sets out to find someone who will affirm what she thought she once knew about herself. Anyone who will call her beautiful.
A few years pass. The little girl is growing into a young woman, more unsure of her worth every day. She started out giving pieces of herself to any willing participants she could find. As she held out her treasures, one by one, she would ask, “beautiful?” Their eyes and hands devoured what she had to give, but they wanted nothing to do with her. Some would take the gifts and walk away. Still, she held out her hands beseechingly, pleading. “Beautiful? Beautiful?” most of the recipients quickly shuffled away without answering. others would glance over their shoulders and answer, “no, no. Unwanted. Unloved. Ugly.” This went on until she had no treasures left to give.
Now, with empty hands and tear-filled eyes, the young woman trudges along under the heaviness of a thousand little heartbreaks. She weeps and whispers to herself, “Ugly…ugly…ugly…”
As she wanders through the wasteland of what once held her dreams, all she hears are the words. Over and over again, a discordant chorus of “Unwanted. Unloved. Ugly. Ugly.” replays in her mind and reverberates through her heart. Until…
She hears a gentle voice speak her name. convinced that she’s hearing things, she continues along.
She hears the voice again, and again she ignores it.
A third time, she hears her name and (finally) lifts her eyes.
She’s staring into the face of the loveliest being she’s ever seen.
Afraid he’ll be repulsed, she quickly hides her face in her hands and backs away, warning him. “Ugly!” she cries. “Ugly! Ugly!”
“no, no,” she hears him say. “beautiful.”
What? He must be confused. “Ugly!” she insists, a sob creeping into her voice.
“No, no,” he says, pleading with her. “Beautiful. Beautiful.” as he speaks, he touches her hands, trying to pull them away from her face. “Beautiful. Beautiful.”
Fine, she thinks. Let him see. She lowers her hands, and is astonished to see him weeping. “Ugly!” she cries, as if to say she warned him. “Ugly!”
And still he insists. “No, no. Beautiful.”
Tears streaming down both their faces, she dares to ask, “…Beautiful?”
His face lights up with a radiant smile. “Yes, yes. Beautiful!”
Could it be? She tries to ask another question, but before she can even get any more words out, he starts singing, “Beautiful, loved, wanted, beautiful.”
But how? All she has left is…
Warily, she pulls the last of her treasures out. She offers Him the only piece left of her shredded, weary heart. “Beautiful?” Without taking his eyes off of her, he touches the fragment and it becomes a whole heart, brighter and fuller than the one she had before. “Beautiful,” he sings. “Beautiful, Beautiful.” instead of taking it away, he breathes into it and gently returns it to it's rightful place. timidly, she places her hand over her chest. Her heartbeat feels more alive than ever. She can still scarcely believe it.
“Beautiful?” she asks, as her eyes fill and spill over.
He pulls her close and brushes her hair back from her face, kissing away her tears.
“Beautiful, so beautiful.” he sings. “My darling, my love.”
“Beautiful. Loved. Wanted. Mine. Forever.”
