You Are BEAUTIFUL.

       I'm going to let you know upfront... this post is a rant. Not a stupid rant like, "Oh my gosh. I went to make some toast this morning and somebody got crumbs in the butter. I make wheat toast and those crumbs were definitely white bread crumbs. I just can't stand people and the world is so unfair because there are crumbs in my butter!" No. Can you say first world problems? Save the drama. This rant is about how there are so many young girls who can't see how BEAUTIFUL they are. 

    I see these girls on a daily basis. They've been shown all their lives what "Beauty" is, but what they've seen isn't what true beauty is. They see models and actresses. They see skinny. They see flawless.

      When they see things like this, they look in the mirror and they don't measure up in their own mind. They think that they can't measure up. They think that they need to change themselves. They go to extremes so that they can "fix" themselves. They can't look in the mirror and see what God sees. They don't see God's beautiful creation.

      It breaks my heart when I see girls who don't see the truth. I mean, how can you look at something that God made with incredible detail and not find it beautiful. When God made you, he made you with purpose. Everything about you is how he wanted you to be. Every little detail is his doing. You are beautifully and wonderfully made! You are made in HIS image and HIS likeness! 

     However, I have been on the other side. I have failed to see the beauty that God made. All I saw was an imperfect, flawed person who could never measure up. I couldn't find any worth in myself. I put my worth in what other's thought of me instead of how much my heavenly father loves me. I believed the lies that Satan whispered into my ear. He told me that I was ugly. He told me that no one could ever love me. That's when I let God in and let him change my heart. He changed how I saw myself. He showed me that everything I let myself believe was a lie. He healed all of my brokenness. He showed me that real beauty isn't what's on the outside, but what is within. I am a beloved child of God, and that is all I need to know. When I look through my father's eyes, I am free. Free of expectations, fear, sadness, and hate. It doesn't matter if I never become "flawless" or "perfect". God CHOSE me. He WANTS me. That alone makes me worth more than gold. 

"You'll be a slave to nothing." -Holly Starr