In the past couple days I have gone out shopping
with my gift cards from Christmas. I was hoping to buy a new pair of
pants. When I got to the store I found a style that I liked in a couple
colors that looked promising. I found two pairs in a size that is a
couple sizes bigger than the number that I currently wear, so I decided
to try them on. But when I got to the fitting room I could barely get
the pants over my hips! I double checked the size of both pairs of pants
and went back to the rack to look at other sizes in the same style.
When I found a pair that looked to be the same width as my current pants
I was shocked to see that the size number was at least four or five
sizes larger than any pants that I currently own.
By
this time I was too upset to try on any other clothing, so I ended up
walking out after buying a DVD set; with no new pants, and a bit of a
blow to my self-image. Afterwards when I was thinking about this
situation, it made me think about beauty and what the media’s image of
beauty is.
Whether the pants’ mis-sizing is an
oddity or the result of outsourcing, it represents what this world
expects of the young women today. The media and clothing retailers tell
us that to be beautiful, young women are supposed to be very skinny
(unhealthy and malnourished), well-dressed (vain), and tanned &
clear skinned (chemically washed). But only a hundred years ago the
image of beauty was extremely pale and slightly plump, because it meant
that this woman was rich and didn’t need to work. But beauty shouldn’t
be defined by the current trend, rather by something that will last much
longer than skin, make-up, weight, and clothes.
When
I got home from the pants fiasco, I knew that I needed some
encouragement about beauty and I knew where to turn. I’d like to share
the redefinition of beauty with the class…
There
are two Bible verses in particular that have helped me redefine what I
see as beauty. The first is Ecclesiastes 3:11 that talks about how God
will make everything beautiful in its own time. When I’m feeling
especially “un-pretty” this verse has reminded me many times that God
brings out my beauty when the time is right. (Also, I think that this
verse can be related to those of us who are single; meaning that God
will make us beautiful to our future spouse when the time is right.)
The
second verse is 1 Peter 3:3-4 that says: “Your beauty should not come
from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of
gold jewellery or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner
self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of
great worth in God’s sight.” This reminds me that the beauty that counts
isn’t rated or gauged by what’s covering this sack of skin and bones,
but rather what you are like as a person. It gives me hope that even
though I will never look like I belong on the cover of a magazine, that I
am still beautiful because God sees me as such. Anyone can have
unfading beauty, but next to no one can have the “perfect” (fake) body
of a supermodel.
Recently a song has really been
sticking out to me by the artist Pink. (*I do not endorse her music or
this song, it’s just appropriate for this blog entry. If you take the
initiative to look it up on your own, I apologize for the swearing*).
This song is called “F***in’ Perfect” and the chorus says “Pretty,
pretty please/ Don’t you ever, ever feel/ Like you’re less than/ less
than perfect./ Pretty, pretty please/ If you ever, ever feel/ Like
you’re nothing/ You are perfect to me.” This is exactly what I hear God
saying to me through the verses I mentioned and I pray that each of you
will be able to hear this too. Each and every one of us is perfect in
His eyes and we don’t have to do anything to be any more beautiful to
Him.
So the next time that you look in the
mirror and think “If only…” remember that God defines beauty
differently. To Him, you are beautiful just the way that you are.
(For
the record: I did have a lot more written, but my internet crashed and I
lost my entire entry. I was not impressed. This is the best that I
could remember of what I had written.)
'Til next time,
'Til next time,
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