Hello friends! Today I wanted to share a little bit of my heart on a more vulnerable topic that I normally wouldn’t. That topic is acne and insecurities. A year or two ago, I experienced some of the worst acne I have ever had. In fact, at one point it got so bad that I was crying because I couldn’t bring myself to go to school because I was so embarrassed. I realize that it probably could have been even worse than it was; however, to me, it was very bad and just ugly. I didn’t have any confidence, despite my effort to act like I did, and I was sick and tired of forcing myself to put on makeup every single day simply because I felt like I could not leave the house without it. To me, that is not how it should be. I believe it is 100% okay to wear makeup as often as you like and wear however much of it you choose, but when it gets to the point where you feel unattractive or unworthy without it, that is not okay. Fast forward a little bit in time to the beginning of this year, my acne began to clear up. I didn’t have near as much of it and I was beginning to feel a bit more attractive each day. Within the past few months, my skin has been VERY clear. I finally seemed to realize what was causing my breakouts and gained control of it. I have been going out in public without makeup often, which has felt so nice. I have felt confident in myself. I have felt better all around. Unfortunately, my clear skin has now hit a bump in the road and I am now experiencing breakouts again. This seems like no big deal because yes, it’s JUST acne and yes, almost every single person experiences it at some point. However, to me it is a HUGE insecurity of mine when I have it and I wake up dreading looking in the mirror. That is sad, but it has been my reality…until this morning. When I woke up this morning, I felt a weight lifted off of my shoulders. God told me that I was beautiful just the way I am and that my outside appearance is not everything. This seems like such a minuscule thing. I know you’re probably thinking, ‘Well obviously God thinks I am beautiful, but that doesn’t change how I feel about my skin. It doesn’t make me appear any prettier to the people I care about.’ But have you actually allowed God to speak those words over you? Have you given him the chance to speak to you in your quiet time and tell you how worthy you are? Have you ever stopped talking about how much prettier you could be long enough to hear the Lord tell you how beautiful you already are and always have been? I finally was able to hear the Lord loud and clear this morning and it was such a refreshing feeling. I was able to just accept the fact that my skin is breaking out and it is normal and that it will clear up in time instead of fretting about how unappealing it is. This is such a small problem in life that people face compared to much bigger problems, but it taught me just how much the Lord truly cares about every. single. thing. we encounter and struggle with. All burdens to us are of equivalent value to Him, no matter how big or small we deem them to be. Furthermore, we were “fearfully and wonderfully made.” Our beauty is not determined by how clear our skin is, the clothes we wear, or the weight on the scale. Our beauty is determined by our creator…and to Him, we are altogether beautiful.
