Imperishable Beauty

She said to me, make up is fine as long as it doesn’t define you. It is not right or wrong to wear it or not wear it. At that point in my life, it had been several months, maybe even a few years since I had worn make-up. This had occurred because of not wanting to be noticed, wanting to blend in, wanting zero attention because I felt, for a plethora of reasons…worthless. This period in my life just happened to follow a segment when I wore it daily…and not just make up, wild curly hair, lots of jewelry, high heels, skirts, tan all year long—mostly to be noticed. It’s embarrassing to remember being that person.

And so, in my ongoing process of refining and surrender, I wanted what God wanted.

Back to her answer, my wise Godly counsel, “as long as it doesn’t define you”.  Define: an exact statement or description of the nature, scope, or meaning of something; synonyms:  meaning, description. Thinking back to when I didn’t leave home without it, the ugly truth is…it did define me.  Maybe not entirely, but too much. And maybe not just the make up, but make up played a part in me decorating the outside (outward adornment).  The outside is what everyone saw, it’s what others noticed. All decorated, I gained attention and validation which gave me a sense of worth (a false sense of worth, but nonetheless…what I had been desperately seeking-or so I thought).  The truth is, we all were made with our worth and value already defined, sometimes we just don’t know it or even if we know it–we don’t believe it. And nothing on this earth will truly fill that void even if it seems to at the time–it will prove to be temporary. Only God can fill that void, it’s how we were designed. 

During this period of inquiry, as I mentioned, I had not worn make up for quite a while.  I had grown to love the freedom of my face feeling clean, of being able to rub my eyes when I needed to, of not fussing and worrying whether all my “paint” was in the right places and still looking fresh.  It was a wonderful freedom…but I didn’t “feel” beautiful.

1 Peter 3:4 tells us “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry 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. The message version says, “What matters is not your outward appearance…”  Wow! That’s sure not what the world hammers home every day, is it? The New King James version says “rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit”. Let’s not miss here that it’s not just telling us that beauty is not found in decorating the outside…but it’s also telling us that it’s not found in NOT decorating the outside either (not feeling pretty without decor).  The outside is not where true beauty is found–make up or not! We may think it is, media tells us different each and every day–but we have to take every thought captive to make it obedient to the word of Christ (2 Cor 10:5) if we are His followers…and HE says, it’s not about the outside.

With these truths, I am wondering if any of you would consider a “New Normal”.  What if…what if we took the time we spent decorating the outside and instead decided to decorate our minds with His truth?  What if we just picked one month, to kind of hit the reset button and reframe how we think? What if we spent that time and energy allowing Him to cultivate a gentle quiet spirit in us?  What if we deliberately saturated our minds in the truth of what He says about us, about our beauty, about His definition of us instead of the world’s? What if we exchange not feeling beautiful without make up…to just knowing we are, with or without it?  What if we came to realize the inside IS so much more important than the outside? And not just say it…live it?  

Please understand I have nothing against make up, I have some beautiful Christian friends that actually sell make up and take that opportunity to share Christ with potential buyers–what a wonderful thing!! I just don’t believe for one second, with the money the beauty industry pulls in and the lies the enemy feeds women all day every day–that I can be the only one who needed this redefining, this transformation, this freedom.

I have one last thought, and this is just my thinking only–the verse in 1 Peter 3 follows a verse that says, Wives, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word; they-without a word, may be won over by the conduct of their wives. If I have heard once, I have heard a million times–men are visual. I know this to be true. I also know that women want to be loved deeply for who we are, for our hearts. I want to suggest that if we are spending ourselves regularly decorating the outside–but not cultivating that incorruptible beauty which is then displayed in our conduct; our men have no option except the beauty on the outside to be attracted to…they may not be drawn to that inner beauty because they can’t as readily see it. And so…we end up sabotaging our hearts desire. WE buy the lie that it’s all about the outside beauty…WE spend time and energy every day decorating our outside self, to be attractive. If we are honest, because of the pull of the world, probably far more time on the outside than the inside. That unfading inner beauty will win our husbands over…it’s in scripture. He knows how he made us…and He knows how He made our men. When a man is captivated by our spirit, he falls in love with our heart. When he falls in love with our heart…we receive that love we long for, that love from our mate for who we truly are, at our core.

I completely understand this may not be a popular post…and these are just my thoughts and part of my journey.  This has been on my heart for nearly a year now…and if it speaks to one person, just one; it was completely worth me sharing–all for His glory.  No one needs to make a public declaration if you decide to try the “new normal” –but if you do, I would love to hear about your journey and the transformation that takes place.  Let Him be the only thing that defines you, embrace and embody His definition of beauty and then live it. Walk in the freedom that you are beautiful no matter what you have or don’t have on your face or body.  He has made us perfect in His sight–even our flaws and imperfections are perfect to Him.  

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