You will always be beautiful at being yourself, but so ugly when you try to be someone else.  

   ” When I saw Stella for the first time, I noticed that she was short and plump with short dark hair. Her uneven complexion had most likely been problematic in her younger years. She didn’t have the manicured hands of a pampered princess, but the hands of a hard worker who is quick to volunteer to help others. She wore glasses like a nerd when most of everyone else chose to wear contacts,  and she had a distinct overbite ?. But when she smiled, the whole room lit up.

I liked her immediately. We became friends, and as a woman ten (10) Years my senior, Stella has always been supportive and offered wise, godly counsel to me whenever I call on her. Whenever I stop by Stella’s house, she always engulfs me in a warm hug. One time as I sat at her kitchen table sipping a soft drink, I noticed how beautiful she was.

How come I never saw this? Her beauty wasn’t the model perfect or movie-star gorgeous, but she has her own particular kind of beauty. It’s an inner beauty that has been cultivated through years of trials, acts of kindness, and by relying on the Lord for her strength and provision. This kind of beauty doesn’t fade; it only grows more beautiful with each passing year.”

Humans are inundated with images of people who have incredible physical beauty. Women, especially, are conditioned to feel that their worth is dependent upon how attractive they are. Their attentions have been shifted to focus more on mundane things. The ideal we see TV, in movies and in magazines is a woman who is tall and willowy, with perfect measurements, and of course she has no blemishes or cellulite.

Today, we have a generation of young women who have been exposed to distorted body images, and many have eating disorders, while many others starve just to maintain the image they have. How often do they get to understand that the pictures of the “perfect” women on magazine covers have been retouched and airbrushed? And do they know that some of these women have eating disorders or drug problems stemming from the pressure to look perfect?

Beauty begins from the inside and not from the outside. It’s time we all stopped looking for beauty from the outside and look from within. It’s displayed in one’s character, attitude, and aptitude. We all need to stop looking for society to give us permission to be beautiful by ourselves. Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised.
Ask the Lord to cultivate in you a gentle and quiet spirit; which is always beautiful in His sight.

No matter how hard the journey gets, never give up and never stop being you ❤️.

Blessings and Love ❤️

Photo by Yogendra Singh