I want to note that in this post, I do talk about food, exercise, and my once-unhealthy relationship with food. If that's triggering for you, skip the post and comment below so that I can lift you up in prayer because you are not alone, and you do not have to be stuck here.
To the girl who doesn't feel pretty,
You aren't the only one. A Dove campaign sent out a survey, and of the 6,400 women who completed it, 96% said they would not describe themselves as beautiful and 78% are not completely confident in their beauty. This is the sad reality of most of us girls out there, but it's not the truth God wants us to live. In fact, it's all lies.
God did not create us to be cocky women, but He did create us to be confident in what He says about us. He created us to know who we are in Him and live out that truth every single day. Unfortunately, the world we live in puts a lot of pressure on physical beauty, and sets extremely high unattainable expectations.
I used to be defined by those expectations. A few years ago, I downloaded a calorie counting app (which is not bad in itself) to make sure I wasn't eating too much. I stressed out about food constantly, and instead of working out to get stronger, I worked out to burn more calories so I could lose weight. (I didn't need to lose any weight.) I believed that if I reduced the amount I was eating, I would lower my body fat enough to get abs, and if I had abs, I would be beautiful. I got so anxious about my stomach that I would squeeze my abdomen so hard that it made me nauseous. Needless to say, this was not sustainable and I did not get abs from eating less. I did not get prettier from eating less, and honestly, it made me more anxious than actually fueling my body did.
Recently I had to redownload my calorie counting app to make sure I'm eating enough to sustain myself after all the calories I'm burning during cross country. I was worried it would send me into a spiral of anxiety and insecurity again, but by the grace of God, it hasn't. I know that I am beautiful and worthy, no matter how many calories I eat or burn. I know that I am beautiful, no matter what the scale says. And I am beautiful by God's standards, not the world's.
I want you to believe these truths too. I want the way you live to reflect that you believe these truths, because it is so freeing whenever you let go of the world's standard and embrace your own body - handcrafted by God.
Throughout the entire Bible, we see the truths that God declares over us:
You are created by God, in His image. You were created to look like God. (Genesis 1:27 NIV)
You are miraculously and delicately formed; you are marvelously set apart. (Psalm 139:14 BBE & CEB)
There is no flaw in you, you are completely and entirely beautiful. (Songs of Solomon 4:7 NIV)
You are more precious than rubies. (Proverbs 4:15 NIV)
Your body is a temple. (1 Corinthians 6:19)
Can't you see? The God of the universe declares that you are beautiful and precious. It doesn't matter what size you are, how your hair looks, or what anyone else says about you. God created everything in this universe - sunsets, stars, beaches, and mountains - yet He declares you as beautiful.
To fully grasp this truth for myself, God really had to retrain my brain of how I see food and exercise. Food and exercise are gifts from God, and so we should have a healthy view of those things.
The food I eat is fuel for my training, but maybe for you it's fuel to concentrate at school or have energy to hang out with friends. Food is not something that holds me back or reduces my beauty. My workouts are to make me stronger and more successful during the cross country season. I don't work out to punish myself for eating or burn off all the calories I ate that day.
And our makeup, hair, or clothes do not make us any prettier than we are naturally. We are beautiful because God created us, and He only makes beautiful things. He makes no mistakes.
It's important for me to note that you might not always feel pretty, and that's okay. Our feelings fluctuate and don't tell the truth, but it's important that we stay rooted in the truth that God declares over us. Remind yourself on a daily basis of God's truth about your beauty. Make a Bible verse the background of your phone/computer, put a sticky note on your mirror reminding yourself of what God says, or replace the calorie app with the Bible app. No matter how you feel, what God says about you never changes.
Sweet girl, if you don't feel pretty, please hear me say this: you are beautiful. You are stunning and you are made by the Creator of this world, and He only creates masterpieces.
As much as I wish I could change your mind, I know I can't. But it is my prayer that God shows you how beautiful you truly are, inside and out. He has created a good thing by creating you, dear friend.
If you don't feel pretty or have a prayer request, please let me know in the comments below so that I can pray for you specifically. Or, if you have any encouragement for someone struggling to feel pretty, drop that in the comments as well so that we can uplift each other!
PS: I've mentioned this in another post, but I absolutely love the song "perfection" by Switch. I encourage you to check it out and let it's truth wash over you. :)
Comments