My Biggest Step of Faith

   Last year my Literature teacher announced that my class would be writing a Laws of Life Essay. We would base our essay off of a quote that we believed lived by. The quote I chose was very meaningful to me at the time (and still is) because it was tied to something the Lord had been helping me to understand that year. The quote said that beauty came from within. Learning that God's children held inner beauty (that was far more important than worldly beauty) was the first "BIG" lesson He had taught me. I was so passionate about my inner, God given beauty, that I just had to share it in my essay. I ended up winning first place for my essay, and I trust that it was only because I was doing something the Lord wanted me to do. 

   ...Fast forward 2-3 months ago. It was time for lesson #2. Modesty. I knew that this would be something that the Lord wanted me to pursue. I just didn't know how. I prayed, and prayed, asking for guidance. Finally He got my attention.  I kept coming across scriptures relating to modesty, and how we females should represent ourselves. I was not only paying attention to how I dressed but especially how other girls dressed. WOW. Then, just this week I posted a status on FB saying: "Cute and adorable outfits that are modest and conservative make me feel SO good about myself! There is a way to be fashionable AND appropriate! Yay me!". After all of the positive feedback I knew something was about to happen. The Thursday of that same week my Literature teacher for this school year informed the class that we were doing...a Laws of Life Essay! (secret party inside of my brain) HELLO!!! For me this was HUGE! I felt like this was the conformation that I had be waiting for. 

   So because God was faithful to me I will be obedient to Him. Do you know how AMAZING it feels to know that you are doing something for the glory of God through your life!? It's awesome! This is the beginning of lesson #2, and hopefully the trigger to many more lessons. Be modest and dress for your King, and know that YOU are beautiful, because the Creator declares it! 

Here is my Laws of Life Essay: (I'll be using it again for this year's entry, but I'll be making many changes to it! ENJOY!)

“I sincerely feel that beauty largely comes from within.” – Christy Turlington

   My Law of life has just recently become severely important to me. In high school, it’s very obvious that if you can get someone’s attention – especially a boy’s – you’re good for something, or at least you think you are. Girls in this age and time are so naïve and have such a low level of self-respect, it’s sad. I chose this law of life because I want girls to realize they don’t have to try so hard and that they are worth so much more than they let the world determine.

Beauty is way more than a pretty face, a nice figure, and good features. Beauty is not about assets, it’s about self-worth. Girls need to realize that they are worth something, and that their actions play a big role in determining that self-worth. They need to see that they are beautiful. Makeup ads, super model magazines, or fashion billboards should not determine someone’s beauty. 

   With the change to high school and my growing relationship with God, my spectrum of “beauty” has certainly changed. Before high school I thought beauty was what you saw in magazines. The ‘glamorous’ models were the pretty ones, not normal girls like me. Then it changed again at church. I had a revelation from God. He showed me beauty was far beyond what we can see. Most of the beautiful things in life, we tend to overlook. The trees, and flowers, even the bees are beautiful. Everything God made is beautiful, and God made me; therefore I am beautiful. I learned beauty should be discovered from the inside out, rather from the outside in. I sincerely feel that beauty largely comes from within.

    For a while, I had a good grasp on beauty.

Beauty pushed itself back into my head when I came to high school. The girls in high school – most of them – don’t have self-respect. They wear shirts that are too revealing, do things their mom’s would kill them for. They have awful mouths, and a pretty bad sense of right from wrong. The way we girls show ourselves to the world each day, does not go unnoticed. If we show ourselves in a negative way, we get the response we're asking for. Boys will lust, and lose all respect they had for us, teachers will talk, and of course girls will gossip. If a boy lusts after a girl, she might be using her beauty for the wrong reasons. Many people don’t realize that beauty is a very powerful thing, and it should not be used as a weapon. However, some girls use their external beauty to get things they desire, or to make them feel less insecure about themselves.

   I know how feminist this may make me sound, but I think the marketing side of the world is to blame for most female insecurities. I believe we have let racy television shows, crude lyrics, and flashy female commercials dictate the stature of the girls, and women on this planet. People become so dependent on what the world says, that we don’t know the real meaning of beauty anymore. I want girls to see their true beauty. So, as a girl – who will soon be a woman in this ever-changing society – I’m making a vow to myself and to God, that I am beautiful. I will not let the ways of this world determine my ‘rank’ or my appearance. I want to be a beautiful person on the inside because to me, that matters the most. I believe that once you learn how beautiful you are on the inside, your internal beauty will shine through to the outside. I sincerely feel that beauty largely comes from within. 

   Being a beautiful person counts a lot more than having a beautiful face does. The way the world thinks of beauty isn’t going to cut it for me. Every girl holds her own significant beauty, and every girl is beautiful in her own way. We are good for something, and we do not need to lower our standards to the world’s liking. Beauty is what you let it be. I’m going to let my beauty shine through to the world because beauty largely comes from within.

                CHECK BACK SOON FOR POST #2: My Influences