At some point in our lives, we have all struggled with the way we look. Every single person can point out flaws in themselves. Outward beauty is something I used to struggle with, but not anymore. It’s very easy to look at yourself in the mirror and only see your imperfections. I had fallen victim to this lie that only outward beauty was important. During my junior year of high school I knew something had to change. For a long time, I only felt pretty with makeup on. I wouldn’t even go to school without wearing it. I started forcing myself to go to school without makeup on in order to gain my confidence back. Eventually, it started working. I felt beautiful with or without makeup. Throughout this time in my life, I realized that outer beauty is just one big lie. True beauty is on the inside. Even though it sounds cliché, it is so true. To be very blunt, our bodies will all be dead one day. Nobody will remember if you had a pretty face or not, people will remember your heart and what you believed in. The same God who created the entire world also created me and you. He created the mountains, the oceans, he creates every sunrise and every sunset. Yet He still calls us the most beautiful. But when God is looking at you and me, He isn’t judging us on how clear our skin is, our how much we weigh, or what our hair looks like, He is only looking at our hearts. Our inward beauty and our hearts are the only things that matter to Him. When I finally understood what it really meant to have inner beauty, a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. I knew my only purpose in this world was to be a light to people and to share the love of God. And if that meant posting ugly pictures in order to make people laugh then so be it! My goal each day is to make people smile and to have them look at me and to not see me, but to see Jesus. So, to the boy who said I was unattractive, thank you. Thank you for allowing me to reflect on what it really means to be beautiful. Maybe I am unattractive to you, but the God of the universe and King of my heart thinks I’m perfect just the way He made me.
